Letters to the editor for Feb. 19
Praise for U.S. House managers
Adam Schiff, Val Demmings, Jerry Nagler, Hakeem Jeffries, Zoe Lofgren, etc. All highly intelligent people, all the kind of public servants we can respect and have confidence in.
You’ve fought the good fight to save our democracy. But guess what? You lost. And you lost to lesser minds with a lesser cause. No one ever said democracy couldn’t fail. We’re watching it.
The importance of the Thurston County Commissioners’ races
Two of the three Thurston County Commissioners’ seats are up for election in 2020. Please carefully consider your vote. The Commission has the power to impact your environment and your clean water. The Commission will be considering whether to allow the destruction of the Millersylvania Park area by rezoning and allowing a massive facility generating thousands of truck trips 24 hours per day.
Another issue being considered is rezoning to allow an asphalt plant two miles upriver from the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.
Please research the candidates and don’t be fooled by the label of an independent candidate. They are often far-right extremists. One independent Commissioner is quoted in the Oct. 20 Seattle Times as saying, “If we’re lucky, the president will get the courts stacked right. If we’re not lucky, we might have a revolution.”
Support election security legislation
The topic of election security is in the news almost daily as the 2020 primary and general elections grow closer. As fears rise of hacking and attempts by foreign nations to interfere in our election process, many states are moving towards Washington state’s model of voting: Requiring votes to be cast on reliable, secure paper ballots.
Cybersecurity experts resoundingly agree that the only secure way to ensure elections are free from interference is to utilize paper ballots with good chain-of-custody practices and statistical post-election audits. These practices give the public confidence that election outcomes are correct, even if “fake news” claims otherwise.
There is more Washington can do and we need to act during the current legislative session. The Secretary of State’s election security package, SB 6412/HB 2647, provides for increased election security funding for local election officials, requires improved chain-of-custody for voted ballots, eliminates email ballot return for military and overseas voters, and requires all recounts be conducted manually.
The League of Women Voters of Thurston County urges you to contact your legislators and advocate for passage of these bills currently in both Senate and House State Government and Tribal Relations committees. Supporting election security is critical to defending our democracy.