Former military leaders: NC court ruling will disenfranchise military members | Opinion

The writers are former high-ranking military officials. Their titles are available at newsobserver.com/opinion

North Carolina service members and their families must be allowed to exercise their voting right in the state Supreme Court election. The military and overseas voters whose votes would be discarded by the N.C. Supreme Court’s decision followed law and procedures.

The court’s decision to change the rules months after the election and when these voters are too far away to respond is not how we do right by service members and families. The appeals court’s decision to throw out ballots unless voters can “cure” them by providing photo ID within 30 calendar days is not practical for service members and families overseas.

It will result in many — if not most — of these voters being disenfranchised. The mailed notice may not reach them within that window, let alone arrive in time for response. Those in remote locations may not have a printer or scanner. Making it impossible for their ballots to be counted is a betrayal of their sacrifices.

Louis Caldera served as Secretary of the Army from 1998 to 2001. George Casey served as the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army from 2007 to 2011. Sean O’Keefe served as Secretary of the Navy from 1992 to 1993. Steve Abbot served as Deputy Commander in Chief of the U.S. European Command from 1998 to 2000. Deborah Lee James served as Secretary of the Air Force from 2013 to 2017. John Jumper served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force from 2001 to 2005. Craig McKinley served as the Chief of the National Guard Bureau from 2008 to 2012. Thad Allen served as the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard from 2006 to 2010.

Tillis, Budd, banks

Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd continue their assault on North Carolinians. In 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized rules capping overdraft fees at $5 per transaction for banks with over $10 million. The bureau’s mission is to protect folks from predatory large corporations.

Tillis, Budd and other Republicans overturned this rule, allowing big banks to charge higher overdraft fees, potentially costing consumers billions of dollars. Their job is to represent 11 million NC residents and not just the richest. They voted against our interest in favor of big banks.

Roberta Blumberg, Durham

Teachers

From 2023 to 2024, 10 percent of teachers left the profession. Instead of addressing the reasons for their departure — low pay and lack of resources to handle students with emotional, behavioral and academic difficulties — state Republicans are proposing we require 50% of teachers, rather than 100%, hold licenses. This will erode confidence in our schools. Instead of using taxes to provide private schools vouchers, this money could be used to address teacher dissatisfaction. Let’s provide teachers with resources to meet today’s challenges.

Elizabeth Norval, Raleigh

Raleigh, April 5

I took a walk in downtown Raleigh on April 5.

This is what I saw: volunteers, including young folks, cleaned up a park near the Village District; thousands of well behaved, creative and diverse citizens held a peaceful protest against the actions coming out of Washington; state capitol police courteously controlled traffic along the protest route; drivers patiently waited in traffic, many honking in support of protesters; Vietnam vets held their monthly recognition of fallen and missing comrades at the capitol memorial while politely interacting with the protesters; protesters and Dreamville attendees visited establishments for food and drink.

For the first time in months, I felt optimism about our country despite the vitriol of so-called political leaders. We the people, are going to be okay.

Lee Evans, Raleigh

Iran

The writer was a staffer for Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson

Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs. Everyone wants to talk about tariffs. Democrats and Republicans are focused on either attacking Donald Trump or supporting Trump on this issue. No one is focused on what would be one of the most disastrous things that Trump could do. War with Iran.

Trump has raised tensions tremendously because he keeps threatening them. What is Iran supposed to do? This would destroy the United States economy, and would drag us into an all out war that we inevitably would lose. Just like Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam.

There is no benefit to going to war with Iran. Going to war with Iran would be incredibly stupid, especially with all the tariffs. The Democratic and Republican parties always act like Iran is some big boogeyman. Don’t believe it.

Patrick Riley, Raleigh

Voting error

I erred. I voted for Jefferson Griffin in the election. Now that it is possible to change the election rules after the fact, I would like to rescind my vote for him.

Alan Tharp, Raleigh