Amid coronavirus vote by mail deserves a close look in NC

Voting by mail

I was heartened to read that State Board of Elections director Karen Brinson Bell is investigating ways to make it easier for N.C. voters to vote by mail this November.

While I love the ritual of coming together to vote in person, experts believe a resurgence of COVID-19 is likely in the fall. It is foolish for us to create a situation in which we need to choose between exercising our franchise and preserving our lives, especially when we have time to establish secure procedures to maximize voting by mail.

Let’s make it easy for every registered voter to receive a ballot by mail and return it safely by providing prepaid postage. Five states already do this for all elections – without voter fraud – and 16 others do it for some elections. We can too.

Sondra Stein, Durham

Rainy-day fund

Regarding “NC Republicans are crowing about the rainy day fund. But there’s two sides to that story,” (April 6 Opinion):

The N&O’s editorial staff just cannot bring itself to admit that the Republican-controlled legislature was right. Rather than acknowledge that the fiscally conservative approach to socking money away for a rainy day was a really good thing, the Editorial Board begrudgingly says ”Whatever the reasons, North Carolina is fortunate to come to this hour with reserve funds at hand.” I wonder how other states controlled by free-spending legislatures are doing during this crisis?

Jeff Hill, Bahama

National response

If this country were attacked by a foreign nation would we be leaving it up to each state to decide how best to defend our nation? No! Our country, indeed the world, is under attack by deadly virus which requires a decisive national response, not a state-by-state decision and response.

Kevin Holmes, Hillsborough

Equal pay

American women are on the front lines fighting the coronavirus in our nation’s hospitals and nursing homes, yet earn less than their male counterparts. Equal Pay Day was March 31, meaning women have now caught up to men’s 2019 salaries. The Equal Rights Amendment can close the wage gap.

Women make up 91 percent of registered nurses. Males represent a fraction of the profession, yet earn an average $6,000 a year more, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Female doctors, too, fall behind their male counterparts. A Medscape report finds that female primary care doctors make 25 percent less than men.

Women are risking their very lives to save ours. The least we can do is pay them what they’ve earned.

Teri Walley, Gastonia

SAVE Act

Scenario: 58-year-old male presents at the ER with cough, fever, shortness of breath. His medical history included diabetes, COPD, and heart disease. Flu test negative; COVID-19 test pending.

Who can care for this patient in the ICU? I can. As an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP), I have the education and training. Like my physician colleagues I can intubate patients and manage critically ill ones. I work closely with physicians, respiratory therapy, and nurses.

The advanced education and training required of ACNPs makes them an excellent resource. Federal and state governments have an opportunity to increase the capacity of health care during this pandemic by changing regulations to allow nurse practitioners full practice authority. As the N.C. legislature prepares to meet, legislators should support the SAVE Act.

Limitations and weaknesses of our health care system have been made painfully clear during this pandemic. Now is the time to act. Now is the time to support the SAVE Act in North Carolina.

Kimberly Bagley, Raleigh

Navy captain

I note that a Navy captain is being disciplined for trying to help the sailors on board his ship who were getting coronavirus. The rule here: “Let no good deed go unpunished.”

Meanwhile, last year a Navy Seal who’d been court-martialed for mistreatment of prisoners was invited to Washington to be honored. The rule here: “Let no evil deed go unrewarded.”

I’m an old retired soldier who doesn’t remember our moral values being like this during my military career. This is an election year. The appropriate rule: “A new broom sweeps clean.”

Marvin Maddox, Cary

Reduce food waste

This Earth Month, and in this time of staying home, we must make an effort to reduce food waste. Eat those leftovers lurking in the back of the fridge. Freeze vegetable clippings to make homemade broth. Buy produce from local farmers. Stale bread? Make croutons or breadcrumbs.

Humans are using resources at such a fast rate. Anything we as individuals do that decreases the amount of trash going to the dump allows Earth’s resources to catch up. While we’re stuck at home protecting ourselves and others, let’s start protecting our planet more too.

Olivia Merritt, Raleigh

This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 12:31 PM.