Letters to the Editor

Editor's note: In response to several letters to the editor regarding Mason County's primary election voters pamphlet that was sent to all voters in the county, including only in-county races, but not state or federal races, the Journal reached out to Auditor Steve Duenkel. His response is below:

"I have been hearing complaints and requests as well. As required by state law, Mason County began publishing and mailing primary voters pamphlets in 2021. At that time, the decision made was to only cover county and local races in those pamphlets to minimize pamphlet production costs which are passed directly onto local districts.

"Information for national and statewide candidates is available on the Secretary of State's website, and we provide the web address in the Mason County voter's pamphlet as well as a link to it from the Mason County Elections webpage. For those who do not have internet access, we have been printing and mailing voters a version of the statewide pamphlet upon request.

"I want to provide voters with as much information as possible. We are exploring how best to include national and statewide candidate information in future primary voters pamphlets for the people of Mason County starting in 2026. More to come."

No pamphlet

Editor, the Journal,

Mason County elections informed me there will not be a voters pamphlet for the primary election. They stipulated information on voting was only available on the web.

Anyone familiar with a computer and its wide variety of programs can perhaps figure out who to vote for. (If they have a computer, its programs are current, they are quite familiar with its machinations, etc., etc., etc. and "good luck.")

My son brought a voters pamphlet with him when he visited yesterday from his home in Silverdale, which is in Kitsap County (where the county provided a voters pamphlet to its Kitsap County voter public.)

Let me remind the public:

Addressees: Do you agree that from conception our lives are numbered - our heartbeat, our DNA, our chromosomes, every single organism that makes you the precious person that you are for the remainder of your being here on earth. Only God can add a soul.

Politics are our king. The Founding Fathers (revolutionaries) made "We the people" our king. Our rule is the result of our knowledge and decision to rule wisely, i.e., vote wisely. Do we rule by God's laws or Satan's or our own? "Mainstream" Republicans agree to permit abortion. Trump's wife had a fundraiser with Log Cabin Republicans (LGBTQ+ group). Dave Reichert gave an oral address to the Mainstream Republicans instead of attending the statewide Republican convention. He is a Mainstream Republican.

Diane Eaton, Grapeview

More information

Editor, the Journal,

Mason County voters have not been fully informed in our voters pamphlet for the primary election. Particularly, there is no information on the statewide and federal offices, the offices that are on our primary ballots. We've only been informed as to county commissioners and fire protection levies. Certainly, we've been advised of a website to go to, but other counties get that information in their pamphlets. Not every Mason County citizen who votes is internet literate or has that access. I am appalled that we have not been fully informed.

Dianna Timm Dryden, Union

Chasing conspiracies

Editor, the Journal,

In the June 27 edition, the Journal ran an update from the Mason County auditor. This is my opinion concerning that update:

One particular paragraph got my attention. It was his usual vague reference to the wireless threat that threatens our election process. What was different this time, he mentions a source, namely the office of the Secretary of State, which in his wording he strongly hinted they recommended wireless protection in the ballot tabulation room. After considerable searching concerning that site, I finally found a Secretary of State site labeled "securing your vote." I quote: "Elections in Washington are run by Certified Election Administrators. To become certified, elections staff must attend a two-day Elections 101 class, get another 40 hours of work-related education, and pass an exam that tests their knowledge of election laws and procedures. They must also work in elections for two years to gain relevant experience before they are certified."

"Voting systems are on an air-gapped network. That means the network cannot connect to the internet and is incapable of wireless communication."

"Paper ballots can be audited and recounted as many times as necessary. They are a durable, tamper-evident hard copy of a voter's choices."

There is a lot more information there concerning the vote. If you want to "heaven-forbid" fact-check the voting system this looks like the place to visit.

A while back, Fox News was fined a bunch of money for reporting voting machines were rigged.

As a taxpayer, I ask how is it that paper ballots can be wirelessly altered and the so far ignored question did we ever find the much-touted anomalies?

I get the feeling, in order to make himself look good, about the only thing this boy can do without breaking the law is to spend taxpayer money chasing conspiracies.

Scott Peterson, Shelton

Vote Franz

Editor, the Journal,

Over the last seven years, I've gotten to know Hilary Franz through her tenure as commissioner of Public Lands and have had the opportunity to work with her directly on several projects that benefit Mason County. Hilary has always fought for her constituents, especially in Washington's rural communities, which is why she's the best choice to represent us in Congress.

Under Hilary's leadership, the Department of Natural Resources transformed how it fights fires - securing record investment in wildfire response, prevention, and resilience while providing local fire districts with equipment. Our state is much better prepared to tackle increasing wildfires because of the strategic measures implemented during her time as commissioner of Public Lands.

During her time as Lands commissioner, Hilary has worked with both Democrats and Republicans to fund apprenticeship programs, create good-paying jobs in rural communities, improve pay and protections for firefighters, and protect our working forests.That's why she's been endorsed by the International Association of Firefighters, the Washington State Council of Firefighters, and the Washington Fire Chiefs Association. She's a trusted and pragmatic leader who is battle-tested and ready to bring our tax dollars home to our district on day one.

Whether you're a Democrat, Republican or independent, Hilary will have your back in Congress and will always be responsive to you. I urge everyone to vote for Hilary to be our next congresswoman by Aug. 6.

K.C. Whitehouse, Shelton

Harebrained idea

Editor, the Journal,

About Cota Street's new parking, everyone is saying "who's harebrained idea was this?" It has to be someone sitting at a desk trying to justify their job, and he is probably next to the guy who enjoys putting roundabouts in the middle of the freeway offramp.

Ron Highfill, Shelton