Letter to the editor: Everyone agrees on secure voting

Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli’s letter “Trump’s attacks on voting rights” I believe clearly shows her Trump Derangement Sydrome and her hate for conservatives.

Ms. Cerilli, everyone should agree that voting needs to be as secure as possible. Purging voter rolls simply is removing the deceased or folks who have moved to another state/district. This practice should be automatic annually. Why don’t you champion that in Westmoreland County? This, along with real voter ID, would go a long way in securing accurate rolls. Why would anyone be against that?

And Cerilli’s claim that Trump and allies (conservative voters) are trying to suppress the voices of Pennsylvanians is unfounded and inflammatory rhetoric. I challenge you and this newspaper to provide legitimate proof of your claim.

And for Cerilli to hold President Lyndon Johnson as some standard bearer is painful to many. The families of those killed only because their sons drew lower draft lottery numbers than the kids next door stil are haunted by the thoughts of Johnson’s incompetence. Johnson was the architect of escalating the Vietnam War. Most of the deaths occurred on his watch (almost 36,000). The annual deaths of young U.S. servicemen increased from 118 in 1963 to 16,592 in 1968. While we are dismantling statues and erasing history, maybe we should erase all history of Johnson. And what about the 17 Democratic senators who voted against the Voting Rights Act? Erase them also?

Everyone should insist that voting be secure and accurate. That has always been a part of the Republican Party platform.

Michael J. Kardell

Murrysville