Feed back.

FROM OUR READERS

We want to hear from you. Send your comments, observations, questions and criticisms by mail, fax or e-mail to: The National Voter, c/o League of Women Voters, 1730 M St., NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036-4508. Fax: [phone]. E-mail: [e-mail].

ELECTION REFORM

As a retired career election administrator (elections superintendent, King County, WA), I read "Can High Tech Save Lost Votes" with great interest. I appreciate that the League is supporting election reform. My concern is that there is a tendency to over generalize in criticizing the election system.

Our punch card counties did just as well as our mark-sense counties. It is not the machinery, but the people operating them and the procedures that they use, that makes the difference. My former staff has often said that when we have problems, it is usually the human element that causes it. Equipment can and does break down, but a good election team has a system ready to correct it before it negates an election.

Some of the money being directed toward technology should be reserved for the human element, especially poll worker training.

Bob Bruce 

King County, WA

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM 

I have long been a proponent of the positive aspects of the Campaign Finance Reform bill cited in the "Out Front" section (March/April). I had always thought we should ban "big money from special interest groups." Lately, I have thought: What are special interest groups? Aren't they groups of people that collectively voice their opinion about a subject, and wouldn't limiting contributions from such groups limit collective voices. I have belonged to various special interest groups (environmental, political, military), and I want to be able to speak up collectively. Actually, the LWV could be considered a special interest group although they may not contribute campaign money.

Though I may not agree with your position entirely, thanks for your efforts.

A. Earl Cheal, D.B.A

Midland, GA

25TH ANNIVERSARY

In 1976, with an experimental $10,000 grant from LWVUS, the California LWV invited the state's AAUW and PTA to create a unique "California Coalition for Fair School Finance." Now, 25 years later and incorporated as a nonprofit, that coalition is stronger than ever.

Re-named "EdSource," its purpose is to provide clear and impartial explanations that clarify complex education issues about K-12 public education for a wide audience, from interested parents and the public to educators and policymakers. The small grant has blossomed into an annual budget of nearly $1.3 million, and the three-volunteer staff has grown to 12 paid employees. Representatives of the founding organizations continue to sit on the board of directors, and several members of LWVC have chaired it. As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, we thank you, National, for this far-reaching investment!

Geri Stewart, LWV of Palo Alto, CA

Ellen Kitamura, LWV of South San Mateo County, CA

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