Check your registration
Editor:
I’m a volunteer who works to get more Douglas County residents to register to vote. There have been some important changes in the registration process, and I hope to put some “little known” public information out there to assist all potential voters. We’ve had many new folks moving into our county. A majority are coming from California with voting processes and laws different there than here. I believe this information can be useful to new residents.
One of my monthly functions is to track the voter registration data by political party. Here’s the registration data from this past June: 8,485 Democrat (+14 from May); 1,865 Independent American (+5); 457 Libertarian (+2); 7,776 (+108); 544 Other (+36); and 20,659 Republican (+18). That totals 39,772 voters.
It may surprise you to know that now when you visit the DMV to get your license or register vehicles you will be asked to choose your political party preference in order to register to vote: Republican, Democrat, etc. If you don’t state, you will then be put in the nonpartisan category. As you can see from the data, there is a fast-rising number of nonpartisan folks out there, and this is mostly why.
You may also “opt out” using another form that allows you to not register at all, but many folks don’t go through this step as there is already frustration in just being at the DMV.
Another important code under Nevada’s voting laws states that unless you have a candidate running in the party in which you are registered, you will not have the opportunity to vote on a candidate for that office in the upcoming 2022 primary. Typically, the two parties in our County with candidates are Republican and Democrat. Primaries are important as they narrow the playing field and further refine the ultimate candidates you vote on in November.
Your voting power is cut in half if you can’t vote in the primary. Wouldn’t most folks want the maximum bang for their buck? Additionally, County Commissioner elections are most often held and decided during the primary elections. This is a very important regulatory position in our community, so you may have to re-adjust your political priorities for the primary. This will help your vote have its strongest power.
I want to encourage our community members to be involved in their constitutional right to vote. Many countries don’t have these same rights. Our Armed Services have fought globally for this right and sacrificed much for it. My intention is for this letter to answer questions that may elude new residents to our lovely valley and also those who haven’t been aware of the recent changes in Nevada law regarding voting registration. Please stop by Republican Headquarters during its open hours or our booth in downtown Minden on Tuesday at the Farmers Market if you need any assistance. We’re here for you.
Virginia Nisse
Douglas County Republican Central Committee
Voter Registration Lead
Volunteering for the Tamarack Fire
Editor:
The last weekend in July was very eye opening for me, as I volunteered to answer calls to the Public Info Line at the Incident Command Post for the Tamarack fire at Douglas High School. The amount of coordination and resources that go into managing a fire event of this magnitude is pretty incredible. Fire personnel have come to our aid from Carson, South Lake Tahoe, North Lake Tahoe, Colorado, Alaska and several other states.
It should be noted that for the last two months there have been multiple fires in the west. Currently, there are 22,000 fire personnel on wildfire events with 1.5 million acres that have burned. Several resources are being allocated to the Tamarack Fire despite that.
I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to help out with this response by answering questions, letting people vent their frustrations with road closures and not being able to access their properties, and provide general fire updates to callers. This situation is scary and misinformation can quickly be spread, so it was a great experience for me to be able to provide an empathic ear to my fellow community members for a small portion of this event.
Courtney Walker
Gardnerville
Whose lives matter?
Editor:
Do Black Lives really Matter and if so by whom? Let’s look at the facts. The No. 1 cause of black deaths in America is abortion to the tune of 259 deaths each and every day. In 1921 liberal, progressive, socialist Margaret Sanger founded the American Birth Control League, the forerunner of Planned Parenthood, to limit the impact of birth rates in the negro community. Ms. Sanger considered blacks to be ‘weeds’ and ‘reckless breeders’, she divided the American populace into ‘fit and unfit’ categories and obviously blacks were unfit in her view. For those readers who do not consider a fetus to be a viable being then it is important to add the fact that the greatest threat to blacks ages 18-44 in America is homicide (murder). Roughly 85 percent of these are black-on-black in inner city neighborhoods which is identical to the percentage for white-on-white murders. Only 3 percent of black fatalities are at the hands of law enforcement and the vast majority of these are justifiable as officers try to protect their communities from criminals and thugs who threaten the general population. If black lives truly mattered then Planned Parenthood should be defunded and more resources should be funneled into black neighborhoods in Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, Baltimore, and Detroit. Part of the solution is increased police presence in these cities rather than less. Law enforcement programs such as D.A.R.E. and others that allow interaction with American youth without the perception of cops as ‘bad guys’ is critical to this issue. Of course, black lives matter as do all lives, especially in America where our Constitution expressly states that all have a right to ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’.
Dan Paterson
Gardnerville
Virus fear the real danger
Editor:
Count me among the many, yes, multitudes, who agree with - and thank -Daniel J. Casentini for telling the truth, yes, the truth. (letter to RC Editor July 22. What is really subtly happening in our once free nation? What indeed! The virus is bad. Yes. Happy most recover. Fact. The sick and poor will always be with us. True.
But we need to be fearing the right fear. The real fear. The bigger threat that will make us a lot more than just sick and poor - and last a lot longer - if we continue following like lemmings to the cliff. A few are controlling the masses, with mere virus fear. Now. Notice how the goal posts keep moving? And the rules keep changing?
Americans, stand up. I know I will. Am.
Joy Uhart
Minden
