Letters to the editor

Strengthen Our Voting Rights and Elections   The very first bill the Democrat-led Congress submitted after Biden became President was the For the People Act. It passed in the House, but Senate Republicans pushed for compromises. This new Senate bill is called the Freedom to Vote Act (FTVA). It still includes much-needed, nation-wide election changes, even though much was cut out. The FTVA protects and expands voting rights and election security through: automatic, online, and same-day voter registration; vote-by-mail and early voting; limiting voter roll purging and requiring purged voters to be notified within 48 hours; establishing Election Day as a federal holiday; restoring voting rights to felons who have completed their sentence and parole; requiring short wait times at polling places; ending partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts; requiring transparent, post-election audits with clearly defined rules and procedures; and requiring newer voting machines that provide voter-verified paper records. The FTVA also reduces the influence of big money in our politics by: requiring organizations that spend over $10,000 in elections to disclose their donors; upgrading online political spending transparency rules so voters know who is paying for political advertisements; and strengthening oversight rules to ensure those who break campaign finance laws are held accountable. These are things we all agree are necessary for a healthy democracy. But a handful of powerful legislators are blocking this bill so they can exploit our current laws and maintain their power. That’s unfair and un-American. We can fix this. Please contact Senators Baldwin and Johnson and tell them to pass the Freedom to Vote Act! Senator Baldwin 608-264-5338 https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/feedback Senator Johnson 608-240-9629 https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/public/   Sue Heintz Roxbury Township   Editor;   Heartfelt thanks to all who made the Help Excite Little People (H.E.L.P.) Project a success! The many donations of new and gently used toys, and items for teens, were greatly appreciated. Special thanks to: * Members and friends of First United Church Of Christ who diligently cleaned, repaired, and organized items * The Sunday School at First U.CC. for collecting gifts * Mission Possible for their generosity * St. John’s Lutheran Church-Prairie du Sac for the toys collected * Area churches and schools that helped spread the word * Sauk Prairie Food Pantry for distributing wish lists * SP Earthlings 4-H Club for their donations * Prairie Sampler Quilt Club for the beautiful blankets * The students at Grand Avenue School who collected a truck full of wonderful donations * Sauk Prairie Nursery Center-4K program for the donations from their families * Individuals that gave monetary gifts * The generous monetary donations from : J. Sliter Buildings, Bank Of Prairie du Sac, and Tools of Marketing This year 42 families (131 children/youth) received gifts. Thank you for opening your hearts and making the holidays brighter for these families.   With respect and thanks, Margaret McFarlane H.E.L.P. Coordinator First United Church Of Christ   Letter to the Editor:   I too thought of attending the Berry Town Hall meeting on December 13th to talk about the mask mandate. I decided against it as I decided that there would be manty more people there opposed to the mask mandate and that my health would be at risk by attending. It is important I think to note why I determined that the participants would be against the mask mandate (and thus not wearing masks). As noted in the letter of 1/06/21 regarding the meeting the sponsors were both known to not promote mask wearing and also were not representing the Town of Berry. I am sorry I was not able to overcome my concerns and I am very grateful that David Boyer—author of the letter—and others who accept the mask mandate were there. They represented for the rest of us a point of view that following county guidelines where other lives are at risk is important for an orderly and healthy society.   Susan Michaud Black Earth   Protecting Voter Rights Honors MLK     Every January, we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. This civil rights leader advocated nonviolent protest to win equality and human dignity for all Americans. He spoke over twenty-five hundred times, all over the country, to advance civil rights.  He supported the Montgomery Bus Boycott, led the protest in Birmingham and presented his famous “I have a Dream” speech during the peaceful march on Washington DC. Many credit him for the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. His nonviolent approach did not protect him. His house was bombed. He was beaten, arrested, and finally assassinated.  If we really want to remember King, we should support what he valued, especially the right to vote.  The Voting Rights Act has been weakened and more than 400 bills seek to restrict voting and make it more difficult to vote. To safeguard our most precious right, Congress must pass the Freedom to Vote Act.  Contact Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson. Demand that they support the Freedom to Vote Act now.  Senator Baldwin  608-264-5338 https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/feedback Senator Johnson  608-240-9629 https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/public/   Wendy Carlson Town of Roxbury   Our Green Bay Packers are the #1 seed for the NFC post-season playoffs and we wish them well! No matter who their opponent turns out to be, the yard lines on the field, the goalposts, and the end zones will be the same for both teams. As they should be. The rules and the field layout will give both teams the same opportunity to win. The same fairness should apply to voters in the Packers Land. But things are not fair because the legislative maps drawn in 2011 were partisan and unfair. The legislature has once again ignored the people’s will by tweaking the previous maps to lock in an even more unfair partisan advantage for the next 10 years. Voters have consistently expressed their desire for fairness. A YouGov poll at the start of the football season found that 87% of Wisconsin voters -- from across the political spectrum -- believe that legislative maps should be drawn to favor neither political party. County boards in 55 counties representing 83% of Wisconsinites have passed resolutions supporting fair maps. Voters in 32 counties have passed referendums in support of fair maps. Earlier this month, WI voters from every state Senate district filed a “friend of the court” brief asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reject the Republican-drawn maps and institute a fairer, more even-handed approach. If you believe fair play is a Wisconsin value both on and off the field and if you value democracy, call your legislators today and tell them to support a transparent, nonpartisan, redistricting process. We need and deserve Fair Maps!   Terri Winscher Town of Merrimac