I voted for Ralph Nader, who I knew could not win but who I was certain was a man of integrity. I wanted to vote my honest belief more than I wanted to win. That is what the opportunity to vote means to me: integrity, mine and the candidate’s.

In Florida, this is exactly what is at stake – the opportunity for all voters to vote honestly for who they support for president and the certainty that their vote will be registered and counted with the same integrity they felt when they cast their votes.

I could not respect any man who accepted the presidency in the face of serious questions of legitimacy. As president his oath is to support the Constitution and if the sacredness of the vote is not a core belief of his, I could not believe a word he would say.

Forget politics and get to the truth, no matter how painful the result will be.

Anything else will undermine our democracy. Speed does not matter – honesty, integrity and truth do. Only the truth can keep us free. Bill Hanson Northeast Harbor