Stop lawmakers from banning ranked choice voting
Republicans under the Gold Dome apparently think that Georgians do not know how to count — at least at the ballot box, that is.
Along party lines, the state Senate earlier this month passed SB 175, which would prohibit the implementation of ranked choice voting statewide. Ranked choice voting would give voters a stronger voice, enabling you to more confidently vote your conscience and bypassing costly runoff elections — a phenomenon Georgia is all too familiar with — by automatically counting your second choice if your first one is eliminated from the race.
Despite the latter benefit in particular, our purportedly cost-conscious Republican government officials seem not to wish to streamline our elections by utilizing ranked choice voting. If you want a stronger and more effective voice at the ballot box, contact your state representative and tell them to vote NO on SB 175!
LIAM YOUNGBLOOD, DECATUR
Trump’s voting bill is wolf in sheep’s clothing
The proposed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act aims to prevent voting by noncitizens. But it’s already illegal for noncitizens to register and vote in federal and state elections. Experts say voter fraud is rare. This bill is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Why?
It will require folks registering to vote to show “documentary proof of U.S. citizenship,” like an original birth certificate or passport.
It will create extreme barriers to voter registration for many married women. About 69 million American women have changed their name at marriage, so their current legal name wouldn’t match their original birth certificate name. And almost 150 million Americans don’t have a passport.
It will eviscerate many of the most popular methods of voter registration — including registration by mail, online registration, voter registration drives and automatic registration — by requiring people to show up in person with their citizenship papers.
The wolf is ready to pounce. Contact your House and Senate members to support a filibuster on this dangerous bill.
KATHLEEN COLLOMB, DECATUR
Why is Musk messing with our Social Security?
The White House just had to remind the acting head of Social Security to reassure us that they’re still “open for business.” Does that White House reassurance give you any confidence?
This is after that acting head threatened to withhold access to his agency’s computer systems from his own employees, the ones who get our Social Security checks out the door. Money, mind you, that is ours. We paid into the program all our lives, and millions of us now depend on it to pay for rent and food.
He made his ridiculous threat after a judge blocked him from giving up our private data to Elon Musk and DOGE.
DOGE and these Trump-compliant agency heads are after our money, whether by crumbling Social Security and raiding its coffers or plundering our personal data for who knows what moneymaking scheme Elon Musk has in mind. Or both.
Please, America, the grift is in plain sight.
JENNY SUTTON, WOODSTOCK
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
