Coronavirus pandemic could impact November elections. NC must begin planning now.

Get moving now on November elections

As the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc, it’s crucial we begin to address and plan for how it could affect our November elections.

Will voters go to polls? Will there be enough poll workers? Should all vote by mail? Can we set up secure electronic voting?

The $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill earmarked $400 million to prepare for election challenges, only 20% of what voting officials believe is necessary.

November may seem a long time off, and while this pandemic may have fizzled out, our elections and democracy are too important to wait until the last minute. We must have fair, accurate, high-participation elections. Let’s get moving now!

Harry Taylor, Charlotte

Help mortgage holders like me

I and many others cannot pay our mortgages. Banks and mortgage companies need to be forced to step up and help.

Credit card companies, utilities, and many others are deferring payments, and some companies are freezing loans. But it will be June before this is over. How can we make large payments at a later date when we cannot make payments now?

When all is said and done so many hard-working people will lose their homes. This is a shame.

We have bailed out banks and other companies before. It’s time they step up and bail us out.

Susan Seeley, Statesville

Cartoon was unfair to landlords

I was appalled at the April 1 cartoon showing a masked landlord allegedly stealing from renters. In my limited experience as a renter I have never found any one of my landlords, whether an individual or company, to be anything but honest and fair.

It is important to note that landlords rely on those monthly rent checks to pay their mortgages, taxes, insurance and upkeep. Let’s be fair to those who provide decent housing to a large number of our citizens.

Jeff Allen, Holly Springs

To Adams, others: Get behind Trump

Regarding “NC Rep. Alma Adams blames Trump for slow coronavirus response, (April 1):

During gerrymandering and redistricting, my neighborhood was put in Alma Adams district. I’m also getting to the age where I don’t have time to mince words... So, Alma, quit bashing our president. He is trying to save lives, get our economy running, and getting families out of their homes to take in a movie or eat a burger again. All Americans need to get behind our president, help our country defeat this coronavirus, and throw partisan politics aside for once.

Jim Cherry, Charlotte

Apply virus lessons to climate crisis

What has COVID-19 taught us so far? Mostly that our world is indeed shrinking. Increasingly, tragedies are global, whether they be germs we can’t see or greenhouse gases some of us – especially our politicians - choose not to see.

Scientists can see those gases. Though their picture may still be a little blurry, these specialists can make projections, devise solutions, and adjust as needed. They stay as close to the truth as we can get.

COVID-19 has taught us about the terrible need for preparedness, prompt action, mass cooperation and the economic turmoil that follows if we don’t accept facts quickly. Will we now face hard truths about the climate crisis, too?

Mark C. Taylor, Charlotte

NC should repeal price-gouging law

The statewide shortages we are all experiencing are, in large part, the fault of politicians on both sides who continue to support NCGS 75-38, our state’s “price gouging” law, which prohibits prices from rising during a declared disaster.

This law places arbitrary price ceilings on goods, thereby reducing the need for consumers to reduce their demand on existing goods (e.g., toilet paper and hand sanitizer). It also encourages the attorney general to turn citizens against each other by actively soliciting consumer complaints on social media and during press conferences. This harmful law needs to be repealed immediately.

Eric Rowell, Huntersville

Golfers, sacrifice and stay off the course

Regarding “Coronavirus NC: Golf courses still busy despite COVID-19” (March 29):

My plea to golfers still on the course: Please set up a putting green in your backyard! If you read the news about asymptomatic spread of coronavirus, you’ll see that being on the golf course with your friends is adding more risk to the community. It delays the flattening of the curve and adds to the potential need for ventilators - and sadly, an increase in the number of people dying from this invisible disease.

Thank you for joining the rest of us in our personal sacrifice, and for staying off the golf course.

Deborah Bender, Chapel Hill