Paper ballots are slow and easy to manipulate
The U.S. Constitution specifically says that the states will run and operate elections. The federal government does not operate or run elections in the states.
Now we have an elected president who is sore over his 2020 election loss and thinks he has the powers of a pharaoh. He has threatened to federalize local elections in jurisdictions that voted against him before. President Donald Trump is not pharaoh. Any overt move by the executive to interfere with state elections should be met with articles of impeachment in Congress.
We have an efficient touchscreen voting system in Georgia. It cannot be hacked or subverted. Each voter produces a paper ballot when a vote is cast. These ballots can be scanned and tabulated quickly after the election is concluded.
What MAGA wants is for Georgia to devolve back into a paper ballot system like we had in the 1940s. That system was slow and riddled with errors. It was also prone to fraudulent activity, such as ballot box stuffing.
Any politician who advocates a return to that old system wants a return to the days of corruption and delayed election results. This should be food for thought for Georgia voters.
STEVEN HARRELL, JEFFERSONVILLE
Private business has its slackers, too
I would like to respond to the letter writer of Feb. 3 (“No motivation for government efficiency”) who claims to have worked in “several government-funded programs” and that “given a group of five, three do 95% of the work.”
I, too, have worked for the government and also for private business. I would apply that statement even more to private business. In fact, in private business, I would argue that 95% of the work is done by the least paid and that 95% of the money goes to executives who do little but attend meetings with other executives.
He goes on to claim that “Any government-run operation has no profit motive, so there is no motivation to be more efficient. It’s just common sense.” I have observed that the profit motive is strongest in those who are greedy and focused on money. Doing a good job in exchange for some job security to support your family, your state and your country is what I have observed in government.
When every child, elder or disabled person is cared for; when pollution is no longer an issue; when health care is available to all — then I will start to consider whether government is overfunded and inefficient.
JEAN SPENCER, ATHENS
