I fought for this country. Now I want Congress to fight for my voting rights.

Voting rights

Voting is a constitutional right, for which I have fought. In 1962 I volunteered for the U.S. military and in 1964 I volunteered for Vietnam.

Now, in 2020, I fully expect my North Carolina congressional representatives to stand up for me and make sure that my vote is counted in this forthcoming presidential election.

I am visually impaired and cannot drive. I live in Wake Forest and my in-person voting place is Rolesville, 6 miles away. Therefore I must vote by mail and have requested an absentee ballot.

I know and fully expect that my representatives in Congress will do everything possible to make sure that I can vote and that my vote is counted.

Richard G. Roberts, Wake Forest

Voter fraud

Regarding “The looming nightmare in November,” (Aug. 20 Opinion):.

J. Peder Zane claims voter fraud isn’t found “because few people are looking for it; no cops, no crimes.”

Election boards, secretaries of state don’t bother looking? Ask Washington’s Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman why she invited Attorney General William Barr to visit her 15-year-old vote-by-mail option and its policing record.

Nobody checks? Trump’s voter fraud committee found nada. The Brennan Center said chances of cheating, 0.00004-0.0009%.

Zane has adopted a formula for distrust — fraudulent claims during an era of conspiracy theories and lies. He should volunteer with his election board, go through the safeguards and ethics training, work the election, and report back. Maybe then he’ll have enough information to write a column worth reading.

Andrea Gomez, Raleigh

Chancellor must go

I’m a third-year at UNC, and I’m angry. Like many others, I was cajoled into coming back to campus under the illusion of a semi-normal fall semester. Of course, I could’ve stayed home, but I like in-person classes.

So, viewing any shot at a normal semester as worth it, I waived my legal rights with a click of a button on ConnectCarolina.

I thought we were going to survive for at least a month, but I was wrong. In hindsight, everyone saw this coming. Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz had to have been blind not to see this coming.

He’s a smart man, a scientist even. He should have spoken up. He should have said something that demonstrated his distaste toward the Board of Governor’s greed. He didn’t though.

Reality is that not one BOG member will resign because of this coronavirus debacle. But Guskiewicz should recognize the wrongdoing he encouraged and resign. Do it because it’s the right thing to do.

Lucas Thornton, Chapel Hill

College parties

My wife and I remember that the first week on campus at Davidson and UNC-Greensboro, (Women’s College) was highly structured. The academic grind began immediately after that, with the promise of a few social events later in the year. Now, the good times roll from the first day, culminating in the extravagant indulgences of spring break in some exotic location.

Campus security and local law enforcement need to break up these mass gatherings before these undisciplined students contract the virus and spread it to their families and the larger community.

Is it time for another executive order, since college officials seem powerless to take charge?

Thomas K. Spence, Jr., Sanford

A return to norms

Regarding “Ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon arrested for online fundraising scheme,” (Aug. 20):

All the president’s men... Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, to name a few, have been indicted and some convicted. To my knowledge we’ve not had such a litany of questionable characters associated with a presidency, nor so many potential pardons, almost all on the taxpayer’s dime.

Now we see a U.S. attorney general working at the direction of a president, as opposed to for the citizens of this country.

It is time we get back to past accepted norms of behavior by our elected politicians and their aides. Exercise your right to vote, and demand fair government.

George Garcia, Rolesville

A global response

It is clear that a global pandemic requires a global response. Congress and the White House have forgotten.

The U.S. must support lower-income countries to address the crisis and strengthen healthcare systems. I lived in Zambia, when I worked for USAID, and Zambia doesn’t have the safety nets we do.

In dozens of countries, the pandemic is not only impacting people directly, it is undermining years of progress in fighting diseases. Many kids are missing out on life-saving vaccines and it’s getting harder to access treatment for diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Food insecurity and starvation are also rising fast.

Whether it’s COVID-19 or other ongoing global health emergencies, we need a strong response from Congress here and around the world.

Lindsay K. Saunders, Raleigh

This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 12:57 PM.