We need voting machines with auditable ballots

Many are reporting that there may have to be a recount in the 18th Congressional District special election.

As VoteAllegheny has been saying for 13 years to all who will listen, with the agreement of many experts, these particular counties — and threefourths of Pennsylvania — vote on unrecountable machines, on which the votes cannot be audited.

We can never know whether the votes were properly counted. We vote by faith — faith that when we touch a screen our vote is counted as intended. We do not know the software on the machines in these counties, and what few machines minimally “tested” (only in Allegheny) cannot be used in the election.

A few weeks ago, The New York Times Magazine cited a study/report by one of our founding members, David Eckhardt, in this regard. See VoteAllegheny.org’s website for our documentation and external links to many sources.

This state is vulnerable and needs new machines and systems in most counties — now. The Legislature needs to budget for this.

For now, a recount? The machine will spit back out the same thing it recorded, voter intent or not. AUDREY N. GLICKMAN Secretary/Treasurer VoteAllegheny

Greenfield would pull the tariff and let the steel industry rust to hell. STEVEN “HOPPY” IGNATZ West Mifflin

The Post-Gazette had a very interesting op-ed page Wednesday. When writing about the Trump presidency, the PG’s Dan Simpson sees chaos and disaster (March 14, “Stormy Weather”). Syndicated columnist Cal Thomas looks at the same presidency and sees success (”Good News in America”). Reconciling those two viewpoints would require the theoretical physics talent of a Stephen Hawking, who passed away that very day.

And, at the time I am writing this, we still don’t know if Conor Lamb or Rick Saccone will be representingus in Congress.

March 14, 2018, will be remembered as a very strange day. Let us eat Pi! TINA REISDORF

Robinson

The legacy of the U.S. torture program has been a disgrace to our nation and brings shame on all those who advocated and perpetuated it. Gina Haspel, who as a senior official was responsible for overseeing the CIA program of torturing suspected terrorists, is one of those people. She was also responsible for the destruction of the videotapes showing the brutal interrogation of Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.

This is the woman the president is nominating as CIA director.

As a person of faith, I feel an obligation to stand up and say no to this outrageous appointment and to call on Congress to reject it. I hope others will join me. SCILLA WAHRHAFTIG East Liberty

We welcome your opinion

The recent article about our area’s tree canopy loss was alarming (Feb. 28, “Allegheny County Tree Canopy Declining”). We need to reach out even more in our communities to make a difference. Let’s not forget to include large public property owners like the Pittsburgh Public Schools and other local school districts.

Iam fortunate to have worked withPittsburgh Liberty Elementary School for more than 10 years planting and maintaining 15 trees with the help of Tree Pittsburgh, teachers, staff, parents, students and neighbors. The advantage of working with schools is the built-in education component for our youth. They love helping to take care of what they plant while learning to respect our environment and experience future career opportunities. It’s a win-win! LISA M. HAABESTAD

Shadyside