Letter: I’m voting for Linh Nguyen to protect free elections

My name is Ronald Marten, and I am a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Army. I served in Vietnam, in the U.S. Army Reserve and in the Illinois National Guard.

I am also a retired teacher of over 30 years having taught vocational education and American history. All of which has instilled in me a strong sense of the importance of our democracy.

In our earliest colonies from Puritan Massachusetts to Jamestown, it was realized that we must rule ourselves. The franchise to vote was established and gradually extended. In our march forward in our history, we have continued that trend and extended voting rights to more groups.

There have been stumbling blocks along the way, such as granting the women the right to vote and acknowledging that if 18-year-olds could be sent into conflicts, they should have a say in the body politic.

We are currently entering into a darker period in that journey. There are political operatives who are bent on encroaching that liberty by enacting voter restrictions and curtailing polling places.

This is why I am supporting Linh Nguyen for the office of DeKalb County Clerk. She is well educated, active in the DeKalb community both politically and socially. She understands the importance of the freedom to vote, having fled a country where elections are a sham.

We do not need a member of the clerk’s office stepping into the shoes of those who have already taken moves to close polling stations where our younger voters can participate. If they begin to curtail their rights, then they will enfringe on other groups.

Ronald Marten

DeKalb