Trump is trying to sabotage ballot collection. Take legal action to stop him.

Election sabotage

President Trump has admitted that he is blocking funding for the post office in order to block voting by mail. There needs to be immediate legal action taken to demand injunctive relief to stop the sabotage our ballot collection system. Trump’s new postmaster general is also slowing down mail delivery and removing mail sorting equipment.

We will need UN observers to monitor our polling places and our postal mail-n ballot system. I feel like we are voting in a Third-World country where the dictator is sabotaging the voting process.

Karen McGrew, Raleigh

Secure voting

Experts tell us that a large increase in mail-in ballots is likely to significantly delay election results.

We can all agree that it’s critical that the November election deliver an unequivocal message about our values and priorities. If we have to wait weeks for the results, that message will be garbled and our trust in the integrity of our electoral system will diminish.

So request a mail-in ballot, but don’t use it unless you absolutely have to. No one knows what conditions will be like in October, but right now I don’t think early voting would be any more dangerous than a trip to the grocery store.

If you feel you have to vote by mail, do it as early as possible, and consider taking your ballot to your county’s Board of Elections.

Tom Heath, Durham

Kamala Harris

Something in me wilted as I watched Kamala Harris make her first appearance as candidate for vice president. What I saw on that Delaware stage was a tamed and domesticated version of a strong, tough Harris.

Harris, a former prosecutor, state attorney general and proud graduate of Howard University, stood before us not in those roles but as a smiling professional mother. What man has ever begun his candidacy for president or vice president by telling us that being a father is his most important role, by telling us his children’s pet name for him?

The contrast between the Harris of the primaries and this Harris was striking. Is this the lesson we learned from Hillary Clinton’s failed run? That women must be sweet and domestic and smile? I guess little has changed. I don’t know about you, but I want the other Harris back.

Patricia E. Boswell, Greensboro

Duke University

I live in an apartment complex in downtown Durham. Dozens of Duke University undergraduates are moving into my building because of Duke’s decision to push students out of campus dorms and into Durham.

These students have no respect for their neighbors and do not wear masks. In the short week they’ve been here, they’ve instilled no confidence in me of being able to take necessary precautions when it comes to protecting themselves from COVID, much less having the decency to protect others.

In its ill-advised decision to have students return for in-person instruction, Duke has pushed all responsibility onto the Durham community.

Years ago, Duke pushed drinking off campus and into the community. We’re still seeing the ill effects of that selfish move.

As a citizen of Durham, I demand that Duke take ownership of this situation and fix the problem they’ve created. Don’t be the reason Durham sees a very avoidable increase in COVID case counts.

Suja Thomas, Durham

Small government

Trump donor, Louis DeJoy, a man with no postal experience, is now postmaster general. Many are saying his appointment was made to disrupt the delivery of mail-in ballots, but it’s also a classic Republican government-shrinking tactic.

Step 1: Put policies in place, or reduce funding, to degrade a government agency’s service. Step 2: Wait for the public to become disgusted with the poor service. Step 3: Propose privatizing the agency to fix the problems their actions created.

When the GOP is in power these steps are often successful.

However, in a 2017 shrink-government move, Trump disbanded Obama’s Pandemic Response Team. This deadly shortsighted action forced the states to create unique, less-effective, pandemic responses, but also highlighted the danger of a shrunken government.

Thomas McKee, Cary

Invest in broadband

Education during the time of coronavirus can be viewed as a challenge, but it is also an opportunity. It is the opportunity to invest in online education and broadband.

Investment in broadband is an investment in education, as well as infrastructure. Education can be done well digitally, as it can allow teachers to provide the one-on-one coaching and assessment that is so demanding and difficult to do in a classroom.

Broadband can also be viewed as an investment in employment. Familiarity with online tasks is almost a prerequisite for today’s employment.

Lastly, the investment in broadband serves the cause of social justice. It is the disadvantaged community that needs this infrastructure to compete on a level field.

Irving Sand, Apex