By Ashley Saari | October 12, 2020
U.S. Congresswoman Annie Kuster called the upcoming November election “the most important in my lifetime” while visiting Peterborough as part of a “Voting Is Easy” tour on Thursday.
Kuster, along with State Senator Jeanne Dietsch, met with a small number of people next to the Peterborough Town Hall, to encourage voters to register and vote this year, whether in person or absentee. Kuster said she had already participated in early voting. Afterwards, in an interview with the Ledger-Transcript, Kuster said the coronavirus is the most important issue for the country as well as the state at the moment and makes this election more important than ever before.
“Our democracy is on the ballot,” Kuster said.
Kuster put in her plug for Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris, saying she had “much more confidence” in their approach to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, compared to how President Donald Trump has approached the situation thus far.
Kuster said legislators began pushing for a nationwide testing strategy as early as February, before the major shutdowns hit, and as of today, there still remains no testing strategy in place. She said currently, legislators are now pushing for a strategy for implementing a vaccine when it is ready. She said such a strategy would be a “day one” priority for Biden.
“It’s complex,” she admitted. “Making sure that we have tracking systems, that those vaccines that require two doses that people are getting those second doses.” But she categorized the current administration’s approach to creating a plan for equitable distribution of a vaccine little more than “magical thinking.”
“That’s why health and well being is on the ballot on Nov. 3,” Kuster said.
With the current situation, Kuster said, this is not the time to put health care access in the cross hairs, which she said will happen if Trump wins reelection and his pick to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed, in time for a constitutional challenge of the Affordable Care Act.
She also urged a resolution to negotiations on the next stimulus package for coronavirus relief, the Heroes Act, which was passed by Congress earlier this month and included a second round of stimulus checks, extension of the payroll protection plan, and reimbursement for states on lost revenue for things like New Hampshire’s room and meals tax.
Dietsch said those taxes, usually bolstered by New Hampshire’s tourism trade, have been weak this year. “We’ve had a very poor leaf-peeping season, as you know,” she said.
The Heroes Act also includes additional funding for rural broadband projects, after an initial round of funding which required projects be completed by the end of 2020. Dietsch said Peterborough had applied to access those broadband funds, but the deadline was so short that they couldn’t have completed the process in time. Kuster said the Heroes Act would allow a more reasonable time frame. More than ever, she said, access to high-speed internet has become a priority.
“It’s critically important. There have been so many lessons learned,” Kuster said – and if there is any “silver lining” to the current situation, she said, it is that it has jumpstarted a telecommunications avenue for everything from healthcare to work and education to government. While it’s not a trade-off for in-person contact, she said, it has opened doors and in some cases, created an avenue for people to become involved in a way they didn’t have the time or ability before. She said many of those processes, she would like to see continue.
To learn more about the voting process, how to register, the hours and address for your town clerk, or other information, call 603-466-8683 or VoteInNH.org.