Details Concerns Regarding Georgia Voter Restrictions

I disagree with Brandon Hensley’s April 8 opinion piece regarding the recently enacted voter restrictions in the state of Georgia. It seemed smugly self-congratulatory to me and clueless about the irony of a sports team named “Braves” talking about an ethical issue. The new law removes the secretary of state from serving as chair of the State Board of Elections, giving the legislature the authority to appoint a majority of the members, and authorizes the state board to suspend local election officials. Potentially the legislature could overturn a valid election they disagreed with, as the former President and his supporters tried to do Jan. 6.

That is the key point Mr. Hensley and his fan Tom Suter seem to have missed. The law was enacted in response to the election of two Democratic senators in an attempt to suppress the will of the people. The law was justified by the former President’s big lie that there was voter fraud and he did not lose his reelection bid in 2020. There have been numerous investigations that found no such massive fraud and many lawsuits filed by the twice impeached former President, all of which failed.

I hope the lawsuits filed by NAACP and other civil rights organizations to overturn this new attempt to continue Jim Crow policies will prevail.

Sharon Weisman
Glendale

Rent Relief Available

The California COVID-19 Rent Relief program is designed to help low-income Californians through the payment of unpaid rent to landlords. Funding for this program comes from $2.6 billion in federal rental assistance.

Who can apply?

1. Landlords
2. Renters

• How it Works
  3. Unpaid rent:
     • Landlords who participate in the CA COVID-19 Rent Relief program can get reimbursed for 80% of an eligible renter’s unpaid rent between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 if they agree to waive the remaining 20% of unpaid rent during that specific time period.
     • Eligible renters whose landlords choose not to participate in the program may apply on their own and receive 25% of unpaid rent between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021. Paying this 25% by June 30, 2021 can help keep renters in their home under the extended eviction protections in SB91.
  4. Future Rent:
     • Eligible renters can receive future rent assistance equal to 25% of their monthly rent. Combined with the assistance available for unpaid rent, future assistance will help renters stay housed once the eviction protections in SB91 expire on June 30, 2021.
  5. Utility Assistance:
     • Eligible renters may also receive assistance for unpaid utilities and future payments. Unpaid utilities accumulated from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021 will be compensated at 100% of cost, limited to a total of 12 months.

Applications opened March 15, 2021 but many renters and landlords might not know about this Fund are limited. It’s important that renters and landlords submit applications quickly.

For eligibility and how to apply, interested parties may go to: HousingIsKey.com.

Madeline Dow
Montrose