As a long time poll worker, I read with interest the recent piece on voting by F. Milne Hanley. Whereas I agree with most ofthe piece, I find a critical piece missing. Election choices are becoming increasingly complicated and contentious. One ismet with a dizzying array of candidates and issues. Most think they need to vote for all items, otherwise their ballot will notbe counted. I advised many people on this while working the polls. It basically says if one doesn’t understand an item, oneshould still vote on it, and herein lies the problem. Votes should be made based on knowledge, not a coin toss. A ballot isonly invalidated when one votes twice for one item. I will leave a position blank if I do not understand the item. Our systemmust be about quality of the votes, not quantity. For a democracy to work, a majority of the voters must be literate. Cointoss voting removes that critical piece.

Jack Pedigo

Lopez Island