There’s an easy way to keep SC voters safe — and it’s called an absentee ballot
On absentee voting
We already have an answer to voting if you are at high risk — it’s called an absentee ballot, and it can be requested now for the November election.
You can request an absentee ballot from your county voter registration office by phone, fax, email or mail.
It doesn’t cost anything, it won’t suppress the ability to vote and it will reduce the need for poll workers.
Honestly, what could be easier?
Just request an absentee ballot now so that you’re ready to vote in November.
Sandra Wade Chapin
Editor’s note: The above letter was revised on Sunday August 9: the original version incorrectly stated that South Carolina voters will be able to request absentee ballots in November citing concerns about COVID-19. While the General Assembly did allow voters to cite COVID-19 concerns in seeking absentee ballots for the June primary election, it has yet to do so for the November election.
On Republicans, Democrats
I agree with a recent letter writer who complained about how poorly Democratic lawmakers treated Attorney General William Barr when Barr recently appeared before a U.S. House committee.
While I do think that Barr is guilty as sin, the Democrats’ treatment of him did not help matters.
But it’s worth noting that the day after the Barr hearing, Republican lawmakers proved that they are no different in how they treat officials and experts.
When Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist, testified before a House committee regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, he was attacked by the Republicans, who also questioned the need for precautions like wearing face masks.
The hearing was just another circus; it seemed like yet another Trumpian airing of grievances by Republican lawmakers.
We have more than 150,00 deaths related to COVID-19, and we also have a shattered economy. Yet we are still no closer toward developing a cohesive plan on addressing the pandemic.
So, yes, it was disgraceful how Barr was treated by the Democrats — but in the grand scheme of things that is the very least of our worries.
John Tudor, Columbia
On virtual education
Many people have misconceptions about online school or homeschooling, and it’s time to set the record straight.
For my last two years of high school I attended South Carolina Virtual Charter School, which was a full-time online school even before COVID-19.
I had an experience that fully prepared me for college, and I had classes that introduced me to a wide variety of career options that led me to the path I’m on today.
When I would tell my college classmates and professors that I went to an online school, they would react with surprise, and many would want to learn more about how it gave me the skills to succeed in higher education.
Online school was an environment that clicked for me, and I believe that parents should look into it if they are concerned about sending their children back into classrooms this fall.
It is a solution that works.
Trevor Tollison, Sumter
On mental health
Our 911 dispatch services receive phone calls from citizens complaining about everything from eviction issues and domestic disputes to property disagreements, misdemeanors and even complaints about refrigerators that don’t work.
However, too often 911 calls are about mental health or social work issues that have been dropped into the hands of the police to handle — and our police departments are not mental health or social agencies.
Sadly our mental health professionals, community activists and social workers have dropped the ball in addressing these types of issues.
It is estimated that South Carolina has more than 8,000 social workers and several thousand licensed mental health professionals; combined, they outnumber the less than 12,000 police officers who work in nearly 300 different law enforcement agencies across our state.
Isn’t It time to take mental health and social worker cases off of the plates of our law enforcement officials and agencies in South Carolina?
How many community activists are working inside their communities to advocate for more mental health professionals and social workers to get involved in handling issues before they become 911 calls?
Albert Fitzgerald, Greenville
On America
How did we Americans get into this mess?
First of all, our Electoral College has been revealed to be an enormous fraud.: any presidential electoral system that makes the state where you happen to vote a more important factor than the principle of “one person, one vote” is a bad joke.
Then there is President Donald “The Man Who Would Be King” Trump, who seems to believe he is the reincarnation of France’s Louis XIV. He gets testy when some journalist, governor or judge dares to suggest that Trump does not have the absolute power to do certain things that he considers desirable.
Sadly I am old enough to remember a time when it seemed that all Americans were willing to join hands to combat a national threat, whether it was Pearl Harbor, the polio scourge or the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
But right now our nation is being assaulted by a terrible pandemic, and the American people are being torn apart by the question of whether wearing a mask is a good idea or treason.
Is there anything at all that can unite us as a people?
Ed Aylward, Columbia
This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 2:50 PM.