Deadline nears for electionrelated letters

Planning to submit an election-related letter to the editor? You’ve got 10 days.

Already submitted one? Thanks, and you’ve reached your limit.

With the election just two weeks from today (hooray!) and our deadline for submitting election-related letters to the editor quickly approaching (June 2), we thought it would be a good idea to repeat our rules one final time for this go-round.

To give everybody a fair shake, we tighten up our letter rules every election season, and it’s no different this time. As always, we’re getting a good number of letters and need these guidelines to give us a fighting chance of getting all of your opinions printed before Election Day on June 7.

First and foremost: We’ll print only one election-related letter to the editor per reader. We have a limit on frequency because we also have a limit on space. Yes, we’ll be keeping track, as many of you have discovered in the past.

The cutoff date for receiving election-related letters is Thursday, June 2. We do that in hopes we can actually get everyone’s in by Election Day. There will be no exceptions to the June 2 cutoff date. Other rules:

• Our regular letters policy can be seen at the bottom of the printed page or online. We don’t print anonymous letters to the editor. We require first and last names, addresses and phone numbers. We don’t print the address and phone number but use it to verify identity. We don’t print purported facts that can’t be independently verified. When using facts, cite a source. We don’t print letters that require substantial research to verify.

• Also, let’s keep personal insults out of this. Criticize a candidate’s record or positions all you want. Namecalling and demeaning comments (especially about your fellow letter writers) aren’t going to win anybody over, but — as many of you have also discovered — they might keep your letter out of the paper.

• We don’t allow letters from candidates or campaign managers, unless it’s in response to a letter, news story or editorial specifically about them. They have ample ways to get their message out, including advertising. Candidates get to do this only once during this period — same as any other letter writer.

• With rare exceptions, we don’t print election letters from people outside of our print circulation area, which is Butte, Glenn and Tehama counties. We’re also making an effort to include more from Plumas County, given the lack of a daily printed newspaper in that area.

• All letters must be 250 words or fewer. We sometimes cut letters to the editor, even if they are under the limit. For example, if somebody says “Vote for Jane Doe” several times in a letter, secondary instances will be cut.

• Even though the limit on letters is 250 words, you don’t need to use every last one. More people will read your letter if it’s short. Get to the point.

• If we get letters that appear to be part of a letterwriting campaign, in which writers hit on the same talking points, we’ll run a small sampling of them but not all. Be original.

• One last time, our cutoff date for receiving letters is Thursday, June 2. Our goal is to run them all before Election Day and not drop any late bombshells.

• Finally — if you mention any candidate, or any election-related topic, between now and June 7, that counts as your election-related letter. You don’t get one letter about the supervisor races, another about county assessor and a third about national elections. You get one, period.

• Just 14 days until Election Day. Questions? Email letters@chicoer.com.

The cutoff date for receiving electionrelated letters is Thursday, June 2. We do that in hopes we can actually get everyone’s in by Election Day. There will be no exceptions to the June 2 cutoff date.