I like the way Maine does their ballots and splits the electoral college votes.

I have always felt that New York City controls our entire state of New York during the voting process. All 29 electoral votes always go to the Democrats and everyone knows it. It’s not a fair way to do things.

In Maine the ballot allows one to have a first, second, third, fourth, etc. choice depending on the number of candidates. Then, I think, the Electoral College votes are split according to the percentage of votes received by each candidate. This gives third party candidates more of a chance and people don’t feel like their vote is wasted if they vote for a third party.

Ballot harvesting and mailing ballots to millions of people who have not requested a ballot must be banned. Voter ID and signature verification by a person from each party is a must. Illegals should not have voting privileges. Deceased people, people who have moved out of state and are thus unregistered should not be voting in the state they left, but only in the state in which they reside.

Anyone should be able to request an absentee ballot and not need a medical/travel excuse. They should be able to vote from home as their freedom of choice.

Absentee/military ballots should arrive one week before the election to allow time to be counted before Election Day, as Florida did, not after Election Day. When they are counted after Election Day, what’s the point? The majority of the people have voted and the choice is already decided (as in Pennsylvania). I know, if I were a man or woman serving in the military, I would feel my vote didn’t really matter. If I voted absentee, my vote didn’t really matter either, as most citizens vote on Election Day in person. All absentee and military ballots should be verified by a certified person from each party sitting at the same table regardless of COVID. Aren’t we smart enough to figure out how this can be accomplished?

Counting mail-in ballots days after the election is unacceptable. This year, many feel that the system was broken in many states due to alleged computer glitches, sharpie pens invalidating ballots, certified poll watchers banned from seeing votes counted, ballot harvesting, ballots found under rocks, boxes of ballots showing up and being counted after the poles closed, mail-in ballots postmarked incorrectly, deceased and unregistered voters voting, ballots mailed out to thousands without request, ID and signature verification not completed, probably there are more.

The people of the USA need to know on election night who the President of the U.S. is and that the election was won fair and square. There are always questions about results after every presidential election and all states need to fix this. It is too stressful on the entire nation to not know, and we certainly have had enough stress in our lives in 2020. American citizens need to have confidence and trust in the voting system.

Governor Cuomo, you like to brag that New York is the first in many areas. Let New York be the first state to pass meaningful election reform. Fix it!

Elaine Crossley is a Frewsburg resident.