Letters to the Editor

Readers write: Letters to the editor, November 29, 2016

No shooting range

To all who come to Caswell Lakes on the weekend, and some that live here, this isn't the shooting range or a place to shoot illegal fireworks. You people shooting guns, do you know how far that bullet will travel? Do you know who and where people live here? It's not 50 years ago. We have people moving in all the time. Not old residents but new ones. So where there were no homes before, now there are.

Go someplace else to shoot. The range is right down the Parks Highway.

— James Christenson
Willow

Electoral College

"I have noticed a few letters to the editor advocating for 'continuing' the Electoral College in our presidential elections. I would counsel caution in regard to that point of view."

The latest letter writer, a Bob Bell, partially quoted above, states that because of the Electoral College an Alaskan's vote counts twice as much as, say, a vote from New York. And somehow he sees that as a fair status?

Growing up as an American (and a New Yorker), I can't possibly count how many times I was encouraged to vote in every election by the assurance that my vote counted. Our democracy was cited as one better than others because it was "one person — one vote." Back before the Republicans began winning the White House by virtue of the Electoral College, we thought that was so, and proudly accepted what fate hath wrought. Now, of course, it is quite evident that everyone's vote doesn't count equally. The smaller, rural and mostly Southern states' votes count double, and sometimes triple, what more populous states' votes count.

I can understand that when your ideology is in the minority why you would want an advantage. The Southern, slave-owning states used the adoption of the Electoral College method of choosing a president as a lever to whether they would join the Union or not. They won then, as now.

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The time has come (belatedly) to change to a popular vote and make everyone equal when it comes to choosing a president. We tell the world about our wonderful democracy; maybe it's about time to practice it.

— Dick Palmatier
Wasilla

The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter under 200 words for consideration, email letters@alaskadispatch.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@alaskadispatch.com.

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