Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (July 16, 2007)
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1. Public
money can clean up elections
Our
American media are caught up in the flurry of presidential candidates'
fundraising as though this is an exciting and impressive activity. In fact, it
is quite sad, and a terrible way to run a "democracy." It results in
big-time donors and wealthy special-interest groups having too much influence
over candidates and over lawmakers, once elected. Money should not be the
criteria for running a viable campaign. Many otherwise qualified people are
discouraged from seeking office. Moneyed interests are running and ruining our
country. The Fair Elections Now Act would solve this problem by leveling the
playing field and would bring fresh faces and new ideas into campaigns. It
would provide public campaign funding for qualified candidates who agree to
strict spending limits and to accept only small contributions from individuals.
Public funding of elections would free up candidates from spending so much of
their time fundraising and allow them time to focus on issues that matter.
Our
congressional delegates and candidates for office need to hear from us that we
want public financing of elections, now.
ELAINE
R. JOHNSON
PITTSFORD
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2. Auditable
paper ballots paramount
Our
congressional representatives should work to ensure that our voting system is
secure, accurate and available to all Americans. The latest electronic voting
technology doesn't work. They must ban this technology and make it the law to
use simple, secure systems that include paper ballot results that can be stored
and audited. Without public confidence in our voting system, our democracy will
fail. In recent elections, that confidence has been badly shaken by all the
stories of problems in Florida, Ohio and many other states. Working to fix this
should be the highest priority for Congress.
BRUCE
POLLOCK
PITTSFORD
The Interfaith Alliance of Rochester, PO Box 25245, Rochester, NY 14625
© 2007 The Interfaith Alliance of Rochester. Report site problems to tia.rochester@yahoo.com