To the editor:

I am calling all Democrats, Independents, and unhappy Republicans to disavow the current administration and vote blue. The reasons for voting blue are numerous Following is a short list. Republicans: deny women’s rights over their own bodies; support voter suppression; are trying to destroy the Post Office and Judiciary; do not support equal justice for all; do not believe in science; do not support ecology or believe in global warming; have undermined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); are trying to take away Social Security by taking away payroll taxes; are trying to nullify the Affordable Care Act with nothing to replace it; do not support veteran’s health issues and call them suckers and losers; appoint people who are unqualified to political positions who try to dismantle major committees and institutions of democracy to further their own interests, i.e. the Post Office, Environmental Protection Agency, and the judicial system.

Vote blue from top to bottom because state and local laws matter! Judges matter; local health laws matter. Republicans have been taking away funding for health, mental health, and under-funding schools for decades.

Your November vote matters. Be sure you’re registered; request mail-in ballot if you do not want to vote in person. Your duty as a citizen is to make your voice heard. Without your voice, our experiment in democracy will fail. It’s up to you, because you matter.

Marjorie Franks

Fort Dodge