Voting rights bill and masks

Sinema puts voting rights bill at risk

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema stood up for the filibuster on the Senate floor on Jan. 13, making it clear in a lengthy speech riddled with inconsistencies that she would not vote to suspend the filibuster to pass the bill making more secure voting rights for all Americans ["Bill’s future uncertain," News, Jan. 14].

This stance illustrates her inability to prioritize the importance of halting the states’ ability to limit and overturn the will of the people in elections. Not suspending the filibuster (not in the Constitution) will prevent the passage of the bill.

As an inexperienced freshman senator, she fails to see the forest for the trees. She claimed her stance was aimed at "curing the disease of division." She just cemented that division.

Will Sinema be able to live with the fallout — the protest movements fighting against the suppression of the votes of Black and brown Americans, who soon will not be the minority?

— Linda M. Frank, Massapequa Park

Whatever the Democrats want in their ebbing voting rights bill better have in it a requirement that all voters must have a voter ID card. It is not hard to get one.

If it were impossible to get one, then the government should be required to make it easy for anyone to get one. If it is hard to obtain, why had President Joe Biden never changed that ID requirement that has been law in his state of Delaware?

It’s a good way to prevent voter fraud. If people feel that voting is so important, they should think of it like standing on a line as if getting tickets to a great show.

Common sense should dictate what would be in a voting rights bill and that we should stay away from making this a law.

— Edward Tardibuono, Levittown

How do states hurt rights of voters?

Readers insinuated that voting rights are being trampled on by state legislatures ["Voting is a right, not a privilege," Letters, Jan. 10]. My question is: How? By limiting mail-in voting (except absentee voting) that by its nature is open to fraud? By eliminating ballot harvesting that encourages mass collection of ballots in favor of a particular candidate? By placing limits on early voting? By establishing voter ID protocols to eliminate ineligible voters?

In response, the Biden administration has supported the aforementioned activities and more, and it has proposed to do it by eliminating the Senate filibuster that was wisely put in place a long time ago to eliminate abrupt legislation in favor of bipartisan debate. This is outrageous.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is leading the charge — by arguing for something he vehemently argued against in the past. That’s hypocritical.

Finally, I’m all for increasing voting hours, the number of polling places, etc. But nothing should be put in place that could adversely impact the one attribute so important to a legitimate democracy: integrity of the vote. Without it, there can be no legitimacy.

— Bob Esposito, Lake Grove

I find it hard to understand how politicians continue to say that voting rights are being suppressed.

Every eligible citizen has the right to register to vote. Every registered voter has the right to show up on Election Day and cast a ballot. Every registered voter has the right to request an absentee ballot if one cannot get to a polling place. In most states, every registered voter has the right to vote early if Election Day is inconvenient.

Voting is one of the most important rights U.S. citizens have. It doesn’t take much effort. Just show up and do it.

— Gerard Sewell, West Babylon

This mask protects only the wearer

An article detailed the advantages of different masks ["Are cloth masks OK? What to know," News, Jan. 13]. However, the picture included a mask with an exhaust valve. While this mask may be more comfortable, it protects only the wearer, not those around that person. The wearer is exhaling and sharing virus particles to all those around.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention early in the pandemic discouraged use of these. As a registered nurse struggling with wearing an N95 mask for long periods, I would never be selfish and wear one with an exhaust valve.

— Orly Steinberg, Great Neck

LIRR rider bemoans lack of masks onboard

I cannot agree more with the reader who noted the continued lack of mask enforcement on the Long Island Rail Road ["LIRR should enforce mask mandates," Letters, Jan. 13].

On the Port Washington line, I have to change my seat every day. I double-mask. And LIRR employees do not enforce.

I heard a conductor tell a passenger to "call the cops — I can’t enforce it." Where are the police enforcing this policy? No wonder many riders aren’t coming back. Try this: No mask, and you get a fine.

— Kathleen Mardiguian, Bellerose