Letters

Elections

Mail ballots must be secure for public trust

Voting and vote security have become partisan issues. Some would say they have always been partisan issues. This is unfortunate. Votes and elections results should be treated the same way a research physician or scientist treats data. If a scientist selectively records or discards valid data, then his peers and the public should consider the researcher’s results to be junk science.

In the same way we voters need to be certain our votes are being reliably and non-selectively counted, otherwise our government is ignoring the will of the people. There is always random noise in data collection and, yes, some votes are lost in all elections. The goal must be to minimize vote loss and eliminate bias.

I applaud the Snohomish County Council and Aaron Reardon for going to an all mail-in voting system. However, this is only a first big step. Now, in addition to the cost savings of mail-in votes, there will be a paper trail of ballots that could be hand counted in the event of a tight election. Tight race recounts are often covered by public funds. What about the not-so-close races? If you were to rig an election, wouldn’t you make sure there would be no need for a recount?

There is still a break in the public chain of custody of our votes. The scanning and tabulating machines manufactured by Diebold contain proprietary software. The public has no way to know if the way a vote was cast is the way it is recorded in the tabulator’s file. The solution is simple: if a private corporation wants to work with public agencies in elections, then all aspects of vote recording devices, including software, need to be public.

ERIC TEEGARDEN

Mountlake Terrace

News coverage

Other side of building heights debate ignored

Having just finished reading this week’s Enterprise I stopped and thought about what I had just read.

Once again a “raise building heights” spiel by Mayor Gary Haakenson and still another pro-Bob Gregg article apparently quoting every possible opinionated word he has recently uttered on the subject dominated the opinion-type articles. Haven’t they and the newspaper noticed the recent election results?

There is an invitation to readers to voice their opinion by using the Letter to the Editor opportunity. I wonder why there are not letters from citizens who view the Gregg building as a monstrosity. Have they been omitted for lack of taste, or are citizens giving up on the fairness of local journalism?

There are good citizens that have been damaged by this oversize project. Should it be permitted to be rebuilt, including the serious flaws that the city attorney described as incurable? “Nothing can now be done” or words to that effect was his comment. Why haven’t these things been reported by The Enterprise with the same diligence and repetition that the developer and the mayor have enjoyed?

If the 5th and Walnut fire was arson, the guilty belong in prison. The law must be obeyed. But arson or not, should not the injured citizens see The Enterprise report the violations that have been allowed and should not the building department now seek to correct the discrepancies, given this unexpected opportunity to do so? Or will we have to wait until the next election?

RAY MARTIN

Edmonds

Holidays

Column brought back splendid memories

I enjoyed Jenny Lynn Zappala’s “Christmas spirit doesn’t grow on trees” in the Dec. 30 Enterprise. I could relate to it being a bride once myself, and recalling the first Christmas my beloved and I spent together. He was a veteran going to the UW during the day and working nights. We secretly got married while I was a senior in high school, for in those days, if they found out you were married they kicked you out of school, and I was a mid-term who wanted to graduate.

We barely had two nickels to rub together in our little basement apartment, but we had lots of love. We send out 100 Christmas cards every year now, but then couldn’t afford to send out even one. We did have a Christmas tree. My new husband picked it up for less than a dollar late on Christmas Eve, for then they were cheaper.

We bought one box of blue ornaments, one string of lights, and a box of tinsel to decorate it with. When we were done, we looked at the tree that had no topping decoration. My husband made a five pointed star out of scrap cardboard with a hole in it for a light, and covered it with foil. It lasted for 25 years before he had to remake it. It wouldn’t be Christmas without that star at the top of our tree to remind us of our first one 53 years ago.

Over those years, the Christmas’ we remember the best were when money was scarce. Like the Christmas my husband was on a company lay-off list, and we had our first baby that December. We placed our new baby son under our Christmas tree, and took a picture. He was the best Christmas present we ever had. And my husband kept his job.

Your wedding portrait framed in a snowflake ornament is so precious and a priceless memento of your first Christmas together. May you enjoy many, many more.

DORIS CANNON

Mountlake Terrace

National

Alito will increase government’s powers

Samuel Alito’s education and background make him a good choice for a judge. I don’t believe he is a good candidate for the Supreme Court.

The role of the Supreme Court justice is to maintain consistency or precedence in how laws are interpreted and assure they are applied correctly. Alito does not have the record on the bench to offset indications in his past of enforcing laws that go against his stated moral views on several key issues (Pro-choice, courts as a balance against executive abuses, issues of discrimination, etc.). A vote to confirm Alito is likely to be a vote to increase presidential authority, expand government’s power over individuals, compromise privacy rights and overturn Roe v. Wade.

Don’t we deserve more from a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court? The prospect that hard-won rights could be diminished is indication that he’s not the best candidate for this job.

JEFFREY WIGINGTON

Brier