Absentee voting should be easier

Absentee voting should be easier

With every new election, eligible voters must scratch on the board of elections’ back door for their absentee ballot materials. What a waste of time and resources.

Since it is the valid signature on an absentee ballot that determines the veracity of a voter’s vote, why isn’t one able to register in writing only once in order to have his or her absentee ballot consistently sent to their residence or designated address? Such a status would, then, remain in effect (unless determined otherwise in the initial correspondence) until the individual either writes back with any changes or the person dies — in which case the board of elections would be officially notified of the death in order to further help ensure against any possible voter fraud.

In addition to registering one time as an absentee voter, why not have all absentee ballot materials include pre-paid bulk postage return envelopes? Cuyahoga County acting alone currently uses pre-sorted first-class envelopes to return absentee ballots, but all 88 Ohio counties working together could negotiate an extra low bulk rate for the whole state. Moreover, pre-paid absentee voter application materials could be made available in public institutions, such as, libraries and post offices.

Finally, oversized absentee ballots which currently cost over a dollar to mail back to the Mahoning County Board of Elections should, at the very least, be given special inexpensive bulk postage rates by the Postal Service, or, even better, have absentee ballots sized to fit smaller return envelopes. Large-type and foreign language absentee ballots would then be made available by special request.

Voting absentee, in my opinion, gives each person the best opportunity to leisurely read and thoroughly consider the issues and candidates in order to vote responsibly, and the cost to exercise this right in this way needs to be kept as close to “free” as possible.

James Kelley, Lake Milton

Don’t let anger be your guide

With all the anger dem- onstrated by voters for the past year, the upcoming elections could become a disaster for the country. A large number of people are understandably so upset by the behavior of our elected officials that they will not vote for anyone currently holding an elective office. If this happens, there will be a substantial number of people elected who are woefully unqualified to govern.

Many candidates campaigning on the “I hate government” platform are angry ideologues that have virtually no experience in government, promise to cut taxes without saying how, want government off the backs of business (forgetting the BP oil spill and the recent egg-born salmonella outbreak) and see political compromise as an evil. The current polarization of members of Congress and hate-filled rhetoric that has resulted in the near paralysis of our government will become even worse.

We voters better put aside our anger and vote for our own best interests. We do not need more angry politicians shouting at one another. We really need to communicate to those whom we elect the necessity for them to begin acting like adults instead of spoiled brats. The majority party needs to begin to respect and even seek out the views of the minority. The minority has to stop trying to derail any legislation that might be seen by voters as a success by the majority. Both parties must stop questioning the other’s intelligence, patriotism and dedication to the American way of life. We should be engaged in an open-minded debate to decide both the responsibilities and limitations of our government in today’s world, not mired in the partisan bickering that passes for debate today.

The competence of an elected official should be judged not by how much “pork” he has funneled into his district, but rather by what he has done for the betterment of the nation. This is, after all, the reason we send people to Washington.

By “throwing all the bums out” we may satisfy our anger but find that the result is an even more dysfunctional government. The choice is still ours.

Robert F. Mollic, Girard

Independence trumps a diploma

In its Sunday editorial explain- ing its decision not to endorse a candidate for Mahoning County auditor, The Vindicator criticized the Republican Party for failing to “field a candidate with solid credentials.” The Mahoning County Republican Party respectfully disagrees and stands firmly behind its candidate, Tracey Winbush.

The problem with Mahoning County government has not been a lack of diploma-laden candidates, but a surplus of unscrupulous, one-party driven elected officials who govern by back-room deals motivated by cronyism and a self-serving agenda. The Vindicator pages have been filled with the names of the indicted and convicted for far too long. When searching for a candidate, the party found in Tracey a hard-working, honest, and trustworthy individual who cares deeply about the community she wishes to serve.

Tracey is an independent thinker who will not take her marching orders from the party. Rather, her vision of good government is driven by her values and adherence to the ideal of a government of, by, and for the people.

Honesty, integrity, and transparency are exactly the solid credentials the residents of Mahoning County need to restore decency to the Valley. The Republican Party is proud to support Tracey Winbush as its candidate.

Mark E. Munroe, Youngstown

The writer is chairman of the Mahoning County Republican Party.

A pretty good letter, up to the end

I read one of last Sunday’s let- ters with great interest. The writer made a valid point about “propelling the federal government into our lives.” That shows how and why the federal government got so big and so intrusive.

For too many years too many people looked to Uncle Sam to solve all of our problems. That opened the door to the creation of more and more bureaucracies to solve more and more problems that we should have been solving ourselves. That being said I must take exception to the comment: “If he has enemies willing to replace him (Obama) at the White House it is only because he is a black man.” I can remember many people, black, white, Hispanic, Oriental, Middle Eastern etc., bad mouthing and hating George W. Bush, but I never heard any of them being accused of racism or bigotry. Why is it that every time anyone who happens to be white says anything negative about Mr. Obama or his policies or his unlimited spending and borrowing or failing to listen to the majority of his constituents, we are accused of racism.

I for one do not dislike Mr. Obama because of his race. I dislike the direction he is taking this country and the financial damage he is wreaking on this country. I would feel the same way if Mr. Obama were white. It’s time to give it a rest and allow us to practice our constitutional right of free speech without having to worry about offending someone.

Mike Harrison, Youngstown