Voting is a fundamental right

Voting should be free in a free country. Simple as that. But due to the size of this year’s ballot the cost of postage was doubled.

I started hearing from constituents that were not too happy when they found out their right to vote was going to cost more this election. And some younger voters give “snail mail” the same muddled look my dad gives his new smart phone.

So I did a little research and found out the post office rightly delivers ballots even if they don’t have a stamp. And the Auditor rightly counts them. I think the Auditor has a good policy here. It’s a simple and effective solution so I was surprised when some folks wanted to keep it hidden.

We need to be transparent when it comes to voting rights, which is why I proposed a motion that informed the public that the Auditor accepts and counts ballots that are received with inadequate return postage.

Voting is a fundamental right, we should not be charging people for it.

Rifle proof body armor

Public safety is an essential role for any government but it is especially critical in local government. When I started on the County Council I went on a few ride-alongs with our deputies to get a better understanding of the issues they face. And – no surprise – the issues they face are immense.

One of the concerns I learned of was the lack of funding for rifle proof body armor. If deputies wanted rifle proof vests they had to pay for them out of their own pocket. That’s wrong. So I worked with Executive Somers to make sure there was funding in the budget for safer vests. Funding for new vests has been included in the Executive’s budget and I will be working on this and other public safety funding concerns as I work through the budget.

Our law enforcement put their lives on the line. They keep us safe. If I can return the favor in any small way, I will.