Page 4 - Mid Valley Times 2-6-20 E-edition

Thursday, February 6, 2020 | A4 | Mid Valley TiMes Editorial & Opinions
Serving the Readers of the Reedley Exponent, Dimuba Sentinel and Sanger Herald.
A Mid Valley Publishing Newspaper
Founded March 26, 1891, in a two-story building on the corner of 11th and F streets, by A.S. Jones
Fred Hall — Publisher
In my OPINION 'Impeachment I' wraps up,
is more to come?
By the time you read this, Im-
peachment I (one) should have ended
in acquittal, but not before the Demo-
crats forced President Donald Trump
to deliver his State of the Union
speech while still under impeach-
ment. That action alone serves to ef-
fectively reflect the weaponization of
a process our forefathers foresaw as
an extremely rare and serious pro-
ceeding. It was not seen as being used frivolously but was to be a last resort for crimes and misdemeanors committed by the president.
I've identified this one as "Impeachment I" because it seems that before they are through, we will be using Roman numerals to distinguish which instance we are talking about when Pelosi, Schiff, Nadler and the house will have attempted to overturn an election.
That represents a wrong being committed on the national level and will eventually be resolved by voters replacing the current do-nothing majority in the House with more rational men and women. The absolute mess that our politicians have made of the state of Califor- nia may not be so easily addressed. With majorities at state level being absolutely “bullet-proof,” Democrats have self-servingly passed laws aimed at and intended to protect the level of control they have been able to achieve at the ballot box.
With every announcement of “advancements” by the state in making it easier to vote now — including a vote-by-mail ballot going to all registered voters that contains the scores erroneously registered by the Cali- fornia Department of Motor Vehicles — we seem to regress in terms of the prevention of voter fraud!
Here in the Central Valley, the shenanigans of ballot harvesting — illegal in most states — was graphically on display after our last election, with many races be- ing turned on their head weeks after the ballots had presumably all been counted. This is one bit of chica- nery which I will never understand because there is no clearly defined documentation of possession. From where did the actual ballot come and how many people have handled it? We still believe that it should pass directly from the hands of the voter to the election of- ficial with its collection.
I'm happy to report that my Voter Information Guide arrived over the weekend from Brandi Orth, Fresno County Clerk and Registrar of Voters. It does seem packed with important information about where to vote, how to vote, who the candidates are and other issues be- ing placed before the voters. It does seem strange to me that information is advertised as being available in 10 different languages. My education included the admoni- tion that one must be a citizen of the United States and in order to be a citizen one must be at least conversant in the English language. The availability of 10 languag- es seems counterintuitive to me, but what the hell do I know? I'm a member of the great unwashed.
We never offer suggestions or endorsement of candi- dates. That is such a personal choice that we won't even pretend to know more than anyone of what's best for their concept of needs. There are, however, concerns of ballot measure 13 which authorizes bonds for facility repair, construction and modernization at public pre-schools, K-12 schools, community colleges and universities.
The request for $15 billion by legislative statute certainly has the potential to be misused if it were to become a state-matching pool of money. Local districts would be tempted and encouraged to attempt to pass local bond issues with the promise that the state stood willing able to match local money. Effectively, the ever- suffering California taxpayer would then be in the po- sition of taking a double hit. We love our schools, but believe they need to deliver a better product and do a better job of accounting for the money they are given.
But, as always, that's only one man's opinion.
Important information on party preference, registering to vote
Rick Curiel — Sanger Editor Jon Earnest — Reedley Editor Dick Sheppard — Editor Emeritus
QUOTE
“The differ- ence between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting.”
— Charles Bukowski (1920-1994)
Voters soon will receive par- ty ballots for the March 2020 presidential primary election, if you haven't already received your ballot. if you are regis- tered to a specific political par- ty, your ballot will include that party’s presidential race and Central Committee race.
However, if you are one of the more than 112,000 No Party Preference (sometimes called non-partisan or decline to state) your primary election ballot will not include any pres- idential candidates. No Party Preference voters will not be voting for president,unless you choose to cross over or re-reg- ister. No Party Preference Vot- ers will be receiving a postcard in the mail for them to request a crossover ballot.
Three parties (American Independent, Democratic and Libertarian) have chosen to al- low No Party Preference vot- ers to cross over or request their party’s presidential bal- lot in the March 3 presidential primary election. Three par- ties (Green, Peace and Free- dom and Republican) have the presidential primaries open only to voters registered with their respective parties. You can re-register up to and in- cluding Election Day to vote in their primaries.
The link “Check your reg- istration status” is located on our website (votefresnocounty. com). This site also can be eas- ily accessed from your mobile device. To start, you will be
asked to enter specific infor- mation into our secure website to verify your identity. This information will locate your current voter registration pro- file and make it available for your review. We encourage you to update your information, if necessary; instructions are provided on how to do so. Your voter registration information must reflect your current resi- dential address.
The races you are eligible to vote on and what issues appear on your ballot are determined solely on your residential ad- dress. For example, if you live in the city of Clovis you are not eligible to vote on the city coun- cil races for the city of Fresno. A little known fact, in November 2018 Fresno County had 81 dif- ferent political districts partici- pate in the election. Each unique combination of races generated 273 customized versions of the ballot to ensure that each voter receives the correct ballot ma- terial regarding candidates and measures on which you can vote.
If you registered many years ago, you may need to update your signature used to verify your Vote-by-Mail bal- lot. Over time, you may have acquired stylistic changes to your handwriting or illness may have forced you to ad- just your signature. If you think your signature may have changed, contact our office for assistance. A paper voter reg- istration card can be mailed to you and you can easily re-reg-
ister so that we have a current signature.
We hope that
you will veri-
fy your party
choice and up-
date your voter
information by
using our website. If you have any questions or problems ac- cessing this technology, please contact the election office at (559) 600-8683 or by email at clerk-elections@fresnocoun- tyca.gov. We want you to re- ceive the ballot related to your choice of party and County Voter Information Guide that is specific to you at your cur- rent residential address. Let us help you get ready to make your voice heard in the impor- tant upcoming elections.
If you are not a registered voter but would like to be, you may register to vote if you are: a United States citizen; a resi- dent of California; 18 years of age or older on or before Elec- tion Day; not currently im- prisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony; or not found by a court to be mental- ly incompetent. The California Secretary of State offers an on-line voter registration tool which can be found at regis- tertovote.ca.gov.
Brandi Orth is the Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Vot- ers. This is the second of two informational columns about the upcoming presidential pri- mary election.
Brandi Orth
Fred Hall
Filling the after-Super Bowl void
Well, that's it. The Super Bowl has come and gone and so begins that dreaded period be- fore the start of spring sports.
Sure, there's NBA, but with the season comprised of 82 games, let's be honest, most of us don't start watching until April...May...
That being said, congratula- tions to the Kansas City Chiefs and especially coach Andy Re- id, who finally, and deservingly, won his first NFL Champion- ship. And to the few Chiefs fans in the Valley, way to stick it out. The old adage rings true, 'all things come to those who wait'.
It seemed only fitting that the Kansas City Chiefs would return to the big game after having played in the very first Super Bowl in 1967. The Chiefs ended up losing that game to the Green Bay Packers and hadn't made it back ever since.
So to see them win on the 100 year anniversary of the
NFL seemed like poetic justice. After watching Sunday's big game, many can agree that the San Francisco 49ers and the Kan- sas City Chiefs both represented the best of their respective con- ferences. They were evenly matched and the game really
could have gone either way. Both are young teams with rising stars on both sides of the ball, so don't be surprised to see them back in the playoffs in the
years to come.
And the 49ers have once
again shown that defense is a sure fire way to succeed in the NFL. Credit goes to John Lynch and the 49ers organization for building a team that went from 4-12 last year to 13-3 this season.
For those of you who re- member the Tampa Bay Buc- caneers who won Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003, you might re- member a hard hitting safety who solidified one of the best defenses in league history.
That safety
was John Lynch
and seeing the
49ers defense reminds me a
lot of that Buc- caneers' de-
fense. A John
Lynch football
team will go a long way.
But now that the NFL sea- son is over, time to move on to baseball. Believe it or not, high school baseball has already kicked off. Dinuba and Reedley will face off tomorrow night in the season's opener and Sanger will travel to Dinuba on Feb. 22 to take part in a tournament.
Time to break out those sun- flower seeds. Baseball is here and it should fill that void after the Super Bowl just fine.
But before you make it out to the diamond, be sure you make it out to the hardwood as high school basketball playoffs are just around the corner.
Rick Curiel