To the editor:

Our freedoms and the democratic election process in our country is the benchmark for freedom around the world.

As I read the morning news daily, I see more negative comments for both President Biden and Donald Trump, suggestions that there should be a maximum age for elected office along with how to manage a candidate with questionable morals or criminal accusations or convictions. The media are obsessed with the alertness and difficulties of how the president speaks even using a teleprompter. When they speak of Trump, they first emphasize the presumed corruption and the 90-plus charges in state and federal court. All the charges are brought by prosecutors of the opposite party (questioning their justification or motives).

Each of the numerous candidates of either party uses any of several polling businesses to measure the electorate’s opinion of the many issues, from energy, pollution and infrastructure to the budget and taxes or Social Security. The polls are a useful tool for candidates to develop their opinions on the issues.

Conducting free and open elections of our leaders is the primary tool the public has to correct the issues of importance to each of us. The credibility of the electoral process is key to trust and confidence in it. This credibility was what caused many to question the election in 2020. Conflicting polls throughout the entire campaign along with accusations of suspected corruption in state election offices led much of the voting public to question the credibility of the 2020 election. That lack of confidence led the radical fringe of the electorate to assault the Capitol. Violence against an election result to impose the losing candidate can never be considered acceptable.

Election in this, the freest country in the world, should be unquestioned. The world is full of countries with far less freedom that conduct elections recognized by the entire world.

We started selecting candidates for the next election is approximately 15 months away. There are many steps that can be taken to prevent questioning the process. The political parties should place poll watches where there may be questionable activity. Opinion polls should be discontinued prior to voting except for use by the candidates. When opposing polls are published as news, they can confuse result in distrust of the election results.

William Gerhard, Scipio