Changing ballot system not possible by midterms
Well, the Georgia Legislature has sunk to a new, insidious low in failing to pass appropriate bipartisan legislation (SB214) to resolve the deadline it imposed on itself to remove the QR codes from ballots by July 2026.
Implementing some — who knows what?! — new system by the midterms is not really possible. As a poll worker and a former project manager, I know all the difficult dominoes that are involved. A system must be designed and tested, then poll worker training must be designed, tested, and implemented well before the actual election. Just a few of the challenges.
We have primary elections to pull off in May and a runoff in June. Much work on that is already going on, with early voting starting in a few weeks.
None of that matters to the MAGAs who want to sow chaos in the midterms. We need to rely on stalwart groups such as the ACLU to sue to move the deadline to provide the ramp-up time for changing the system, and to implement such major changes in 2027, when major elections don’t occur.
BETSY SHACKELFORD, DECATUR
Russia, China are winners in Trump’s Iran ‘excursion’
Now that Trump’s Iranian “excursion” seems to be winding down, some clear winners and losers can be identified.
In the short term, big gains go to Putin and his “oil”ogarchs. The lifting of sanctions on its petroleum exports results in billions of dollars for the state, which will go toward replenishing its war effort in Ukraine and a consequent weakening of NATO and European powers.
China is the long-term winner here. They have prepared for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by stockpiling over a billion and a half barrels of oil purchased at a low price. More significantly, China has invested heavily in renewable energy — solar, wind and hydro — which now supplies 40% of that country’s power needs, reducing its reliance on petroleum.
Also key is that China does not engage in “wars of choice.” They have steadily built up and modernized their military since the 1950s, when they took over Tibet.
Contrast this restraint to the United States, which has bombed or invaded more than 30 nations since 1945, according to Veterans for Peace. The People’s Republic looks to be in a good position to take over Taiwan without having to use armed force within the decade, with a much-depleted and isolated United States as its only real obstacle.
WILLIAM C. FLEMING, BLUE RIDGE
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