The Musicians’ Voice is an open forum for discussion about the state of union affairs. The letters here do not necessarily express the views of Local 802. E-mail letters to allegro@local802afm.org or write to Allegro, Local 802, 322 West 48th Street, New York, NY 10036. Letters must be no more than 300 words.

FIX OUR ELECTION SYSTEM

Thanks for Chris Carroll’s piece “Closed Primaries, Shut-Out Voters” in the June issue of Allegro. In fact, last November I visited my local Board of Elections to re-register as a Democrat from an Independent, so I could vote for Bernie Sanders in the New York primary this past April. I was told, however, that the deadline for changing affiliation had expired three weeks earlier…in October. I was shocked, and felt outraged and disenfranchised.

Because all the votes of Bernie’s many ardent supporters (including me) were not allowed to be counted, I believe that Hillary Clinton’s primary victory was manufactured.

Truly free and fair primaries enable the voters to give their full support to the candidates who actually win. Clinton didn’t actually win; she emerged, but she comes off as untrustworthy. Trump also emerged, with enormous help from the media whose ratings skyrocketed whenever they reported on him, but he has obvious sanity and character issues. We are left with a poor choice. The electoral system must change to accommodate the voters’ needs and aspirations. The party system is rigged and needs reform.

More than Bernie the man, I strongly support the political positions he has championed with so much courage, energy and integrity.

–Armen Donelian