LETTERS: Prove who you are, then cast your vote
To the editor:
I could not pass up an opportunity to comment on Ebeth Palafox’s letter (“Nevada can’t afford to provide photo identification to voters,” Saturday Review-Journal). People who aren’t willing to be positively identified shouldn’t be voting for or against anyone or anything that affects me in any form, manner or degree.
If these “anonymous” persons lack enough pride in their own identity to prove who they are, I don’t think they deserve to impose their wishes on the lives of others by voting without establishing their eligibility to vote. I cannot believe any U.S. citizen of voting age living in Nevada is not in possession of proof of identity sufficient to obtain a Nevada ID card or voter ID card. How does one conduct day-to-day business involving such mundane tasks as cashing checks, flying on airplanes, checking out library books, buying a bus pass, alcohol or tobacco, buying a house or car, or almost any transaction requiring proof of one’s identity? Try buying show tickets as a local without satisfactory proof of identity, or try using a debit or credit card to pay a restaurant check.
Nevada has no obligation to provide ID cards suitable for such purposes and shouldn’t be expected to provide them for voting or other uses. Neither the state of Nevada nor anyone else pays for my driver’s license. Nevada Revised Statute 293.277 provides rules and guidance with respect to voting and related matters, including identity for registering to vote.
I believe Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske’s support for voter ID cards is right on the money. Those who either won’t or can’t obtain appropriate ID are not serious enough to impose their preferences on others through voting.
KENNETH F. HINES
LAS VEGAS
Sandoval pandering
To the editor:
Gov. Brian Sandoval is sounding more and more like President Barack Obama. I suppose changing out of a dignified black robe and into an imperial cloak might have something to do with that attitude, but it doesn’t fly with the hardworking taxpayer who has to scramble every day to make ends meet.
According to the front-page article dealing with bill drafts changing labor laws, Gov. Sandoval said he will monitor the legislative debate and make an ultimate decision on a bill if and when it reaches his desk (“Bill drafts considered modest,” Sunday Review-Journal). How very kind of him to even consider helping us poor serfs. He had no problem stating his desire for more taxes, then directing his acolytes to proceed in his desired directions, but he will decide later what labor legislation gets signed into law, once he sees which way the political winds are blowing? How very thoughtful indeed!
This statement and others like it are why politicians exhibiting courtesan tendencies are despised throughout the world. The governor’s messaging smacks of political pandering and lacks any sign of backbone.
Decisions not stated in a law book require personal fortitude to proceed, as any small business owner can attest to. When the prosperity of one’s family is being threatened by the dictates of big business and the entrenched unions, the small business owner and ordinary citizen expects his elected officials to speak up on his behalf to decrease both the influence of big money and limit union control in their lives. To the majority of the voting public, this is certainly not too much to ask of a public servant.
DENNIS LEFFNER
LAS VEGAS
R-J comment boards
To the editor:
The temporary disabling of the Review-Journal’s online comment boards is welcome news. The off-topic, uncivil and tasteless comments of a few seem to overwhelm the relevant and insightful opinions of others. Enough is enough.
TRACY ALLEN
LAS VEGAS
