The votes that count

Re “Few glitches except for independents,” Feb. 6

I voted for Secretary of State Debra Bowen precisely because of the promise that she made good on Tuesday: to do everything in her power to ensure that my vote counts. Who but those to whom my vote -- or anyone else’s -- doesn’t much matter would value speed over accuracy and quick results over a secure, unhackable system?

Democracy is worth the wait. Thanks, Debra, for standing up for me. I’m glad to return the favor.

Susan Macksey

Los Angeles

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The election results in California and the polling data were completely out of sync with reality. Arizona Sen. John McCain and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton won, while the polls had it wrong. So, were the polls wrong? Did the polls influence people to switch votes because of perceptions about who was in the lead? Would the results have been different if the polls weren’t the news?

Should news media polls, and their results, really be news that dominates a political race, or should we expect the media to spend more time comparing and contrasting the different candidates and reporting the only poll that matters: the voters’ poll when the election is over?

Barry Levy

Hawthorne