Our duty is to vote no matter what
Re: “Prepare now for the possibility that your ballot won’t arrive,” August 30 editorial
Call to duty!
The rapidly approaching Midterm election may be the most important election in this country’s short history. We always discuss our right to vote. Itap time we understood itap not just our right; itap our duty. Every qualified voter must take this seriously.
It seems the results of every recent election have been attacked as rigged or stolen by one side or the other. Itap time to eliminate that doubt. The way to do that is to produce results so overwhelming there can be no question as to what the American people want. If you’re angry, this is your chance to vent that anger. If you’re satisfied with the status quo, you can express that too.
Congress and the courts may be cowardly and slacking in their duty, but the American voter can’t be. Our ballots are going to be mailed soon. I, for one, plan to complete my ballot immediately and drop it in the closest ballot drop box. I have no choice but to trust the Postal Service to deliver it to me, but I won’t trust the Post Office to deliver my completed ballot.
I’m doing my best not to express my desires for the outcome. Regardless of how the elections turn out, it must be decisive. There can be no room for me to be concerned that the other side of the issues stole the election from me.
Do your duty and vote!
Robert Johnson, Denver, CO
How is it that President Donald Trump is doing everything within and beyond his power as president to deny the validity of mail-in ballots when he has used them to vote on multiple occasions? His claims that thousands, if not millions, of votes have been and will be cast illegally defy reason.
He will not admit or permit defeat in any area. It’s heads I win, tails you lose in any contest: voting, tariffs, war, crowd size, whatever. During the past two years, he has incarcerated, deported and terrified thousands of undocumented individuals and visa overstayers. Who does he think all these so-called “cheaters” will be? Underage teenagers?
I’m over 80 and have voted in every election since I was eligible. I’ve served as a poll watcher and an election judge, and I’ve always been impressed by the care taken in protecting the voting process. The president is crying wolf over a territory where he is the only “wolf” in sight.
Jeannie Dunham, Denver
If the USPS fails us, I’ll deliver ballots in my county. We could set up bipartisan teams, as we do with election judges. I bet we could cover the whole state.
Julie Leonard, Boulder
After reading this column, I came away thinking this is a solution in search of a problem. The only people who believe Donald Trump won the 2020 election are members of his cabinet. There is a very simple reason for that. If you don’t believe that fact, you are not in his cabinet; you also believe vandals destroyed his reflecting pool, and Jan. 6 was just people taking a stroll around the Capitol.
My point is 2020 was one of the most secure elections in modern history. In fact, all our elections are probably the most secure elections in the world. The fact that we even have to prepare in case our mail-in ballot doesn’t arrive borders on insanity.
Karl Rove once said that when fewer people vote, Republicans win. Even Karl Rove now thinks Trump is crazy. Trump and his dwindling MAGA followers still would rather not have mail-in ballots because then it is harder for everyone who is eligible to actually get the chance to vote.
Letap stop the insanity and stand up to Donald Trump.
David Shaw, Highlands Ranch
Jena Griswold will stand up to Trump and Allen won’t
Re: “Jena Griswold’s latest scandal should get voters to look seriously at her opponent,” August 23 column
Krista Kafer (R), wrote an article in The Denver Post criticizing Jena Griswold and recommending that people vote for Michael Allen (R) instead of Griswold. In a different time, say pre-2016, that might seem like normal politics. However, Republicans nowadays kowtow to whatever President Trump wants, regardless of the legality or logic of the situation. That is what Republicans in all 50 states are doing since Trump became president. We have no reason to assume that Allen will be any different.
On the other hand, Jena Griswold stood up against Trump in the Tina Peters case. She refused to let Peters go unpunished for the crime that she was convicted of at great personal risk. Griswold has been the recipient of more than 4500 death or harm threats.
We are left to assume that a Republican would have done whatever Trump wanted. This year, vote for a proven fighter who won’t do Trump’s bidding, Jena Griswold.
Byron Bergman, Denver
We don’t need Coco
Re: “Sales tax to fund rail set for ballot,” August 29 news story.
I am getting up there in age, so I still remember the promises of Front Range rail service when we voted for increased sales taxes in the 70’s and again in the early 2000s. (.5%, then raised to 1%). Those trains never materialized. The projected costs were too low, and the revenue proved insufficient due to incorrect or dishonest math.
What was built has run at a massive loss ever since. A lot of money has run down that bureaucratic drain. Most recently, RTD has been cutting services to “make ends meet.”
Now you report a new ballot measure for another one-third of a percent.
I am a diehard rail fan. As much as I would love to see trains to Boulder and the Springs, my vote will be a “No!” this time around.
Twice bitten, thrice shy!
Jonathan Williams, Denver
Re: “Yes, really – a passenger rail is coming to Boulder,” August 29 guest commentary.
In regard to the guest commentary by Aaron Brockett and John Putnum in support of the Colorado Connector (CoCo) rail project, I ask a simple question: Why are we even considering this? I am a loyal RTD rider. I live in Centennial and have commuted downtown daily for over 20 years, using a combination of bus and light rail. Now that I’m retired, I have used RTD to go downtown and to the airport, and I especially enjoy the winter service to Eldora to go skiing. As a senior, I get an all-day pass for $2.70. The bus from Union Station to Boulder runs every 15 minutes, so there isn’t a problem if I miss a bus.
This isn’t the case for CoCo’s three daily round-trip train rides. In summary, bus service is cost-effective and already exists. I would use RTD more; unfortunately, it is no longer as reliable as it used to be. CoCo just seems an unnecessarily expensive boondoggle. The money would be much better spent upgrading RTD’s reliability and working to reverse its deteriorating ridership.
Brian Rothkopf, Centennial
A responsible decision made on roads measure
Re: “After deal, measure on road funds to pull back,” August 28 news story.
Thanks to the Colorado Contractors for negotiating and pulling their transportation proposal, which was scheduled for this November’s ballot. I agree that highways need more funding; I believe we have some of the most deteriorating roads in the country. Having driven cross-country recently, I can agree with that estimate.
The first problem with the initiative was the funding source, and the second was making it constitutional. There are other solutions. The gas tax has not been increased since 1992; shame on us. Secondly, do electric cars pay their share? Electric, I would assume, does more damage as they are heavier. Just my thoughts, but there are many solutions.
Thanks again to the contractors.
Norma Anderson, Lakewood
Cameras are a useful crime prevention tool
Re: “Sheriff’s Office pauses use of Flock cameras after meeting,” August 28 news story.
The pause and/or ban on the use of Flock license plate readers flagging offenders is another law enforcement tool not available in opposing county and city locales like Summit County and now Steamboat Springs. The current anti-government, anti-data, and anti-police paranoia has now infected and disabled a useful crime prevention tool.
As stated by many law enforcement agencies, Flock readers are a valuable tool in their limited arsenal to prevent crime and apprehend offenders. I can understand offenders and criminals being opposed to this useful law enforcement tool. What I don’t understand is that now law-abiding citizens who are in the majority, with no criminal activity to hide, are being subjected to the whims of a loud, outspoken anti-law-enforcement minority. Seems like much to gain and very little to lose.
So, with that in mind, offenders wanting to avoid detection can just head to Summit County and Steamboat Springs where offenders can cruise undetected by law enforcement and go on their merry way without concern. Sound good?
Henry Ferne, Walsenburg
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