Wait until after the election to debate post office funding. Ballots must come first.

Post office funding debate can wait

The election is around the corner and it’s time to get creative with countermeasures to defunding the U.S. Postal Service.

Of course we need to fund it so we get our paychecks and medicine on time, and so our ballots are counted. But there is a workaround for getting ballots counted. The solution is to return your absentee ballot in person.

The State Board of Election’s website says we may deliver our absentee ballots in person to our county board of elections office or to any early voting site. So, we should do just that.

The debate about defunding the post office has serious implications, but first things first. Get your ballot counted. Because it will matter who makes the decisions.

Matthew Jarvis, Asheville

Set up drop sites for mail-in ballots

Recent Forum letters have lamented the slowdown in delivery of mail by the U.S. Postal Service and efforts by the Trump administration to cause a slowdown as a way to threaten mail-in voting.

Some have urged voters to mail their ballots early or vote in person. Another option could be an organized effort by the board of elections across our state to set up drop-off locations for mail ballots. These locations could be county libraries and public schools.

Such an approach would significantly minimize the health risks of voting in person and avoid the possibility that a mailed ballot would not arrive in time to be counted.

John H. Clark, Charlotte

Less focus on Harris’ gender, ethnicity

Sen. Kamala Harris is the right choice for the presidential ticket because she is brilliant, has an impressive professional and personal background, is a dynamic public speaker, understands the Constitution and body of law, and shares Joe Biden’s vision. She is also of woman of color and a child of immigrants with a heightened sensitivity to issues facing such people.

Her personal experience, professional competence, and ethnic understanding are what make her a brilliant choice.

Great effort is made by the press focusing on her ethnicity and gender. They are the crucible of her life, melding and tempering her to make an exceptional person who is more than just gender and ethnicity.

Richard D. Sorensen, Charlotte

Harris isn’t prepared to be president

In selecting Kamala Harris as his running mate, Joe Biden may have made the “Sarah Palin mistake” his advisors had hoped to avoid.

As a military veteran and an independent voter, I would have voted for John McCain in 2008 but for the fact he selected a running mate who was wholly unprepared to assume the presidency in the event of his untimely departure.

In her debate performances Harris displayed that she’s not ready to lead the free world, relying on prepared sound bites rather than a deep understanding of domestic and foreign policy.

While I’ll vote for anyone opposing President Trump, I’m disappointed that Biden bowed to the political pressure to select Harris.

Brian Buckley, Cornelius

Nice to see strong women recognized

President Obama and Hillary Clinton were tough rivals during the 2008 Democratic primary. After the election, he asked her to be Secretary of State and she accepted. Both recognized each other’s strengths. Now, Joe Biden has asked a tough rival, Kamala Harris, to be on the ticket with him. I see the parallels between two men who recognize and appreciate the abilities of strong, intelligent women. And I see four people who put the good of the country ahead of all else.

Sue Friday, Davidson

Risk takers shouldn’t put others at risk

Regarding “Let people take the risks they want,” (Aug. 14 Forum):

People can take the risks they want — but they do not have the right to insist that others take those risks for their enjoyment. Athletes, workers, and those with immune system issues have the right to be safe from COVID. Risks takers like the writer certainly don’t have the right to put anyone else in danger because they refuse to listen to the experts and take the precautions necessary to get this pandemic under control.

Rosalie Spaniel, Charlotte

CMS remote learning plan is a letdown

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools superintendent and board have let down the students and parents of this county. Walmart, Costco, Target, Publix, Food Lion and Harris Teeter have all figured out how to safely open their doors and serve hundreds of thousands of customers in a medically approved manner. But CMS officials, with six months to prepare, cannot make a plan to serve our students in the schools we’ve bought and paid for. What a great disappointment.

Jim Van Meerten, Charlotte

This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 3:38 PM.