This isn’t Russia or N. Korea. Every vote should count in NC court race | Opinion

Do our votes always count? Or, do they only matter if the losing side doesn’t use the courts to disenfranchise those who voted against them?

As I watch the Allison Riggs-Jefferson Griffin North Carolina Supreme Court race unfold, I’m left feeling like some votes aren’t counted. Why is it okay for a candidate to invalidate the ballots of registered citizens? These people have voted previously without issue. They brought their IDs with them to the polls. And they made their choices for every race. Yet, when a candidate doesn’t like one specific result, he can try to stifle the voices of 60,000 people.

Until a few years ago, I thought that election interference only happened in countries like Russia and North Korea. But, with each court challenge across every recent election, I further lose my faith in both this democracy and its ability to conduct fair elections. Enough already. Let the people vote. And count every ballot.

Kathy Repass, Cary

Hegseth

Pete Hegseth is a decorated combat veteran with two Bronze Stars. Moreover, he has written books about the military, Modern Warriors and The War On Warriors. In my opinion he was selected to get the “woke” and DEI out of the military and return to its core mission. He will be the “hatchet man,” and I salute him!

Bob Fuller, Raleigh

Islam for peace

I send my deepest condolences to everyone impacted by the tragic attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day and its aftermath. Shamsud-Din Jabbar reportedly supported ISIS, known for aggression not only on Western soil but also on Muslim-majority countries.

As a Muslim American, I wholly know that Islam does not condone or support these acts of violence. Our Holy Qur’an says, “And make not Allah a target for your oaths that you may thereby abstain from doing good and acting righteously and making peace between men. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing” (2:224).

The very words we speak in greeting and in farewell bolster peace: as-salamu alaikum and wa-alaikum assalam. May peace be upon all of you, and may we all realize these acts of violence have no place in any religion.

Mahrosh Khan, Apex

Presidents’ Bibles

President Carter actually read the Bible and taught it in Sunday School, while President-elect Trump treats the Bible as just another commodity to be sold for profit —along with his golden sneakers. You reckon God might be able to tell the difference?

Danny Graham, Chapel Hill

Bye, Facebook

I joined Facebook in 2008. As a political consultant, I realized that every “friend” could be a potential vote for my clients. I started one night and before I knew it, I had hundreds of friends.

Over the past two years, I posted almost daily on close to 130 Facebook pages in NC. I read voraciously. I shared political news and information from a variety of reliable sources I believed most people would not otherwise see. By September of last year, my Facebook feed was filled with complete strangers, even in my world of 3,400 “friends.” I rarely got a message from someone I had heard of.

I am not on Facebook anymore. I left weeks ago when Mark Zuckerberg gave Trump $1 million for his inauguration. I am outraged by Zuckerberg’s decision to stop fact checking on Meta. With his subservience to the man who wants to buy Greenland and make Canada the 51st state, I am staying out.

Paula A. Wolf, Raleigh

Raleigh fires?

As one watches news coverage of the terrible fire and insufficient preparedness in Los Angeles, one wonders how the densely developing City of Oaks is prepared to handle an aggressive fire. Raleigh’s preparedness, or lack of, for this kind of calamity might be a useful subject for an investigative report by the local newspaper.

Richard Ferguson, Raleigh

Ludicrous

Jefferson Griffin’s challenge of 60,000 votes is ludicrous. It’s a desperate attempt to steal the election. Mr. Griffin and the majority of the NC Supreme Court that voted to halt the certification of the election results need to put on their big-boy pants and get over it.

Robert Mulder, Raleigh

This story was originally published January 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM.