US election day: voters share their feelings in letters to the editor of The New York Times

The Voters’ Turn: Voices in an Uneasy America

To the Editor:

As we watch — if we do — our country being destroyed by a government we allegedly chose, Americans have an opportunity and responsibility on Tuesday that’s unique. We can take back the reins of government, the ultimate duty of each of our citizens.

It’s unique because the situation has never been worse. For too long, we have apathetically ignored what those in charge have been doing, and it’s almost too late.

Let’s restore our place in the family of nations. Let’s restore integrity in our own land. Let’s restore our commitments to one another.

Robert F. Longley
Green Valley, Ariz., Nov. 6, 2006

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To the Editor:

American politics has plummeted to a new level that can only be described as embarrassing and despicable.

Our leaders and aspiring political candidates should be standing before the citizens of this great country and speaking about platforms and their own personal leadership ideals, strengths and capabilities. Instead, they are slinging mud, making contextual exaggerations and lying about their opponents to sway an already confused, misguided voter.

In my mind, the candidates who stand on platforms based primarily on political accusation and rhetoric are the candidates who deserve to lose.

The nauseating fact about the midterm election, and frankly, all of the elections in this administration’s tenure, is that there doesn’t seem to be a candidate on either side of the political fence who hasn’t succumbed to using scare tactics and propaganda to sway the American voter.

God bless America, and please help restore our right to know the truth, see the truth and to vote in confidence.

Minette Herman
Weston, Fla., Nov. 4, 2006

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To the Editor:

Re “The Difference Two Years Made” (editorial, Nov. 5):

Something is sorely amiss in Congress, and it is priorities.

It seems the elected members of both parties have a completely inverted value system that more often than not operates to the detriment of the country’s well-being.

Their upside-down priorities seem to be as follows, in this order:

1. Make sure they take care of themselves first.

2. Do the selfish bidding of their major contributors.

3. Right or wrong, march and vote in lock step with their party.

4. Vote the interests of their district.

5. Vote what’s best for the well-being of the country as a whole.

It is no surprise that we find ourselves in a national and international mess.

Unabashed greed, selfish motives, low ethics and a lack of personal courage seem to be the job description of much of today’s Congress. Where are the honorable statesmen and women the country so desperately needs?

Reverse these five priorities, restore integrity to the system, and, just maybe, America will once again have an honest and honorable government.

Robert Brandes
Fredericksburg, Tex., Nov. 5, 2006

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To the Editor:

Re “Throw the Truthiness Bums Out,” by Frank Rich (column, Nov. 5):

If the Democrats win these Congressional races, they should abandon the politics of “truthiness” in favor of the politics of truth and facts.

Republicans do not respect the intelligence of the American people. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if policy were based on science and results?

Statistics and facts? If politicians respect us — if they are honest with us — we will respect them enough to vote for them again and again.

Truthiness need not be a tool for our approval anymore.

Geoff Wawrzyniak
West Lafayette, Ind., Nov. 6, 2006

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To the Editor:

Re “New Telemarketing Ploy Steers Voters Down a Republican Path” (front page, Nov. 6):

Negative campaigning tactics like these are nasty, unfair — and effective. The reason candidates resort to these new tricks, despite voters’ protestations that they dislike attack ads, is that individuals are more likely to recall negative advertising than positive spots. This may be due to the psychological power of negative information.

If you have ever had the experience of ruminating on the one negative remark a friend made about you in a sea of positive comments, you can appreciate why negative campaigning persists.

Richard M. Perloff
Cleveland, Nov. 6, 2006
The writer is director of the School of Communication at Cleveland State University.

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To the Editor:

Re “As Vote Nears, Parties Prepare for Legal Fights” (front page, Nov. 4):

Does not the article sum up the panorama of Tuesday’s election: the fear of the Democrats that not enough voters will be counted; the fear of the Republicans that too many voters will be counted?

Phyllis Yampolsky
Brooklyn, Nov. 4, 2006

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To the Editor:

Re “Protecting the Right to Vote” (editorial, Nov. 6):

It is apparent that the entire voting process — voter registration, ballot design, vote-counting technology, vote count validation and voter access — needs a thorough overhaul resulting in enforceable national standards.

The current process violates the concept of equal protection under the law.

Lee Tanzer
Cedar Park, Tex., Nov. 6, 2006

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To the Editor:

Democracy is new for me. Also new for me is the idea that my opinion might count.

I grew up in Communist Romania, and I remember my Mom going to vote, an obligation to no avail: always the choice between two members of the same party, with no political platform or view.

Later, when the regime changed, I got the right to vote. But after each election, I also had the feeling that my vote was useless. Nothing had changed, no matter who the winner was.

So, here I am, in the United States, the land of freedom and democracy. Why is it I’m still afraid that my opinion won’t count? That my vote will be disregarded in a so-justifiable technical error? Here, in the most technologically advanced country in the world?

Mihaela Costin
Mount Vernon, N.Y., Nov. 6, 2006