vote – Representative Mike Sylvia

6th September 20226th September 2022

Election Integrity

Many voters are still concerned about election integrity. They ask me what can be done to assure the votes, ALL the votes, get counted properly. The general answer that they receive is to not worry, the system is fine. Of course, they have their doubts and even Hillary questioned the 2016 results.

Here in New Hampshire we have three polling locations that were found to have mishandled ballots. So telling people every thing is fine is less than satisfying. While we know that three locations in the state have had problems, we don’t know what we don’t know (for the youngsters that’s roughly from Rumsfeld). The problems in Laconia had been going on for a long time and yet were just revealed. Where will the next discovery be made?

If the people are not confident in their elections, one of their first thoughts is ‘then why bother voting.’ Fewer voters gives more control to those whom have a higher incentive and receive special privileges from their government.

We need more voters not fewer. We need to turn out voters at such a high number that it overwhelms their ability to rig the system. We have to have faith that justice with prevail.

Another thought just popped up over at GraniteGrok. Ken Eyring suggests contacting the Secretary of State’s Special Committee on Voter Confidence.

Others are working on grassroots solutions. Check out The Resolve for some ideas. As is all in politics, we sometimes need to respectfully disagree. I support John Plumer over their preferred candidate for senate in District 2.

There is no quick and easy solution. And even if there were we would still need to remain vigilant to maintain a legitimate election system. Have faith, be hopeful, and most of all take action; bring your neighbors to the polls on September 13th.

17th January 202117th January 2021

Deliberation

When one comes under attack by certain segments of the population, we sometimes respond by lumping together those people and give them a rather broad label. This is a common practice and it is unfortunate. I try to avoid such errors.

I know there are many rational thinking people, with whom I disagree, that are Democrats. Often they get tarred with the broad stroke of a brush wielded by some in the Republican party. With this in mind, I must reply to those who have a habit of responding to events without thought or the application of reason.

I stand proudly with the members of the House who voted against suspending rules on January 6th. As Representative Hough explained, we were in a parking lot in Durham in session and separated from news of the events happening in Washington at the time. Our legislature is a deliberative body, we are to think about our actions as they have an effect upon not just ourselves but also our constituents. When this vote was called, we lacked information about the events that were occurring and what would be included in the Resolution which would follow. When presented with such a vote, with insufficient information, I consider it to be irresponsible to vote in the affirmative.

I do not want this to be taken as a criticism of those who supported the motion; they may have had more information than I. This situation brings into focus the difficulties associated with remote meetings; the more closely a group meets, the better information flows through the body.

In the end the Resolution was adopted. Rep. Terry has pointed to a somewhat embarrassing problem with the Resolution. It was put together with such haste that it inadvertently condemns “all… action in Washington, D.C.” Surely we did not intent that to be included in our Resolution. When one assembles a sentence that will be recorded in history, deliberation will assure that “all violence and action in Washington, D.C.” can not be misconstrued.

Rather than shaming Representatives Comtois, Sylvia, Ploszaj, Bean, Aldrich, Silber, and Hough, those who react with outrage should pause before they fly off the handle, and look for a bit of perspective which might explain why we voted as we did. The voters of their districts are not as irrational as you might think.

2nd September 20202nd September 2020

September 8th Primary

We are counting down the days until the primary and there is good news to report; there are currently no active cases of COVID-19 reported in Belmont by NH Department of Health and Human Services. If you have symptoms of the virus it is best to vote absentee or wear a mask and wash your hands if you go to the polls. The WHO reports “SARS-CoV-2 transmission appears to mainly be spread via droplets and close contact with infected symptomatic cases.”

We should remain vigilant to risk associated with COVID-19 but we do not need to live in fear. I’ll see you Tuesday at the Belmont High School between 7 a.m and 7 p.m.