Voting Problem

To the Editor:

I am a lifelong, natural born citizen of the United States of America who takes very seriously the liberties granted under the US Constitution, especially the constitutional right to vote one’s conscious. I voted early and almost completely of my own free will. I appreciated the electronic touch screen voting device I used at the county courthouse (I really have never liked the blunt pencils at all) until I attempted to print my ballot That is when I discovered that I would be forced into voting for one office for which I desired to abstain. Otherwise, my ballot would not print out! This office was the only one on the ballot in which the individual was running unopposed. Only once I had cast a vote for this unopposed office holder was I able to print out my ballot and carry it to the ballot drop box.

My issue is not with the individual holding the office. I (to the best of my knowledge) have never met this person and therefore would like to express that I hold no negative opinions concerning the office holder personally or professionally. What upsets me is being forced into casting a vote for any candidate who identifies with any political party that my conscious will not let me vote for by choice. I hope that in years to come, and in elections to come, no one voting in Fayette County (regardless of their sociopolitical convictions) will ever again look into the screen of an electronic voting device and read a message that they must cast a vote they do not want to cast before they will be able to print their ballot

David Warren

Dubina