Election Day not much better than early voting

After two unsuccessful attempts at early voting because of three-hour-plus lines, my wife and I finally voted on Election Day at our usual polling place. After waiting 40 minutes, we discovered that the machine for our district wasn’t working. The poll workers gave us three options: We could return later after the machine was fixed; we could cast our ballot and wait for the machine to be fixed; or we could give our ballot to a poll worker who would secure it in a box and scan it later under the supervision of a Democrat observer and a Republican observer in our absence. I feel the Board of Elections has dropped the ball on this important process.

Roderick Andersson,

Islip Terrace

Let’s bring an end to our current fears

It is difficult to remember how we lived without fear — the fear of a deadly virus, of being infected at the mall, or our children being exposed at school. I am a pediatrician, and I am scared that mask-wearing is a political statement. Masking has been successful in New York. Yet when I drop off my children at the bus stop, we must stand near individuals without masks. They appear content to infect me or my children while we wear masks for their protection. We all stop at traffic lights, ask smokers to smoke outside, and take garbage to the curb — in the name of public health and safety. Why should wearing a mask be different? Then, there is the fear of announcing to my neighbors my political affiliation with a lawn sign. I want to show my support for a new president, one who will value science, work for all Americans, and create a more cohesive union. I want to show my support for former Vice President Joe Biden. I should not fear placing a sign in my yard. But I fear the consequences of that statement. I want a president who will bring an end to the fear.

Dr. Mundeep Kainth,

East Meadow

Wearing a mask is a small sacrifice in comparison

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, American soldiers participated in the invasion of Normandy to help free Europe from the Nazi scourge. They disembarked from Higgins boats and made their way through barbed wire and explosive-laden obstacles. They stormed the beaches while German soldiers shot machine guns at them from fortified pillboxes atop cliffs. About 4,400 American and Allied troops died. Today, we are under attack by a virus that has killed more than 230,000 of us. We can defeat this virus if we follow the advice of public health experts and, for a limited time, wear masks, socially distance and avoid large gatherings. But some of us, egged on by a president who sees the coronavirus only as a public relations problem as he has struggled to hold onto power, can’t even make this small sacrifice. To me, it’s pathetic.

Jesse Siegel,

Greenlawn