The foundational right to vote is a crucial win

Imagine yourself sitting in the Capitol building of the Congressional Joint Session eight days after the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” Selma march. President Johnson is exhorting his audience to feel what it would be like to be excluded from “the full blessings of American life.” LBJ was speaking in support of the Voting Rights Act. “There is no constitutional issue here. The command of the Constitution is plain. There is no moral issue. It is wrong — deadly wrong — to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country. There is no issue of states’ rights or national rights. There is only the struggle for human rights.”

The Voting Rights Act was subsequently passed. Fast forward to 2013 when Chief Justice Roberts’ Court struck down the section of the Voting Rights Act that required certain regions of the country to get clearance from the Justice Department before making changes in their voting laws and procedures. Since then, we have witnessed the states’ creeping restrictions and removal of citizens from voting. Alongside these barriers, a cacophony of voices has been accusing our elections of fraudulent practices without evidence.

The November 5 presidential and congressional elections will decide whether Americans are fine with denying fellow citizens the right to be heard. Our leadership in the world is in large part due to our governing system of freedoms and rights. The foundational right to vote is a crucial win for all of us.

— Cathy Swanson, Boulder

Kamala Harris’ victory would be an inspiration

Our country was founded by white men, for white men. We are a misogynistic society. I am hoping that Harris gets elected. It won’t change our society, but it will be an inspiration to young girls all across the country including my amazing granddaughters. That alone is a reason to vote for Harris.

— Preston Padden, Lafayette

What are the real threats to American democracy?

I have been reading all the articles and letters about the threat to democracy by the Jan. 6 attack on the capitol while the electoral count was in progress. For me, it doesn’t go that far but is definitely a red flag and worrisome. So, what are threats to democracy? I would say the following.

• Empty bellies

• Lack of or no enforcement of laws

• Misinformation (2 and 3 are really close)

• Government officials continuing to question election integrity without evidence

• Total disrespect for political position

• Ballot question 131

Why 131 you ask. The framers set elections up so all parties could participate given enough support and be presented for the vote on election day or before for mail-in ballots. We already have seen the primary system dismantled by allowing nonaffiliated voters to vote for any party they wish. I am hoping this will not be the case for 131 and it is soundly defeated. Sorry, but each party is only entitled to one candidate per position in the general election.

— William Ashbee, Longmont

Vote for the positives we have in this country

Early in the Trump administration, Klan-like marchers trod through Charlottesville, Virginia, carrying flaming torches. Their actions mimicked the rampaging KKK through the South lynching African Americans after the Civil War. We waited for the president to condemn their threatening march that led to the death of one peaceful bystander.

Instead, our president denounced no one. He said there were some good people on both sides. Recently his former chief of staff revealed that the same president said he admired Hitler because he had done some good things. The key word is the interpretation of the word “some.”

Taken out of historical context, Hitler threw the world into a war that killed roughly 60 million people, including millions of soldiers and other millions of political prisoners in concentration camps, Jews especially. Nothing positive came from Hitler’s tyranny. There are too many negatives in genocide alone to discount anything positive from his life. Anyone giving him credit is ignorant of history.

Please vote for the positives we have in this country. Vote for someone who will carry them forward.

— Bill Ellis, Longmont