Here are the rules for political letters

Now that the ballots are set and the campaign is in motion for the June 26 primary election, this is a good time to remind our readers of our policy regarding letters to the editor.

During the election campaign, the Maryland Independent will not print letters from candidates commenting on the issues or stating positions. Exceptions are when a candidate is replying to editorial criticism from the Mar yland Independent, disputing news reporting, or replying to an inaccurate attack from another letter writer. Even then, such letters of reply may be printed at the sole discretion of the editor. And the word limit on those letters is the same for all letters on this page: 600 words. That length should be sufficient to get your point across.

Another exception to letters from candidates is if the candidate has absolutely no opposition in this year’s campaign cycle, even through to the Nov. 6 general election. Since they are guaranteed to be re-elected, they have a looser rein on them regarding our policy. However, if a completely unopposed candidate should submit a political letter endorsing or criticizing another candidate in a race for another office, that writer would be held to the same standard as any other citizen letter writer.

Indeed, we welcome letters from all readers as the political process plays out. If you support a candidate — local or statewide — we want to hear from you. If you oppose a candidate, we want to hear from you. If you have ideas about how to improve the system, we want to hear from you.

Just email your letter to letters@themarylandindependent.com or rperry@ somdnews.com, and we’ll take it from there. You could also send your letter by U.S. mail or fax, or drop it off in person at our office (see the box at the bottom of this page for details). Honestly, we would greatly prefer letters to be emailed, because letters submitted on paper instead of electronically must be retyped by us, and mistakes could happen. So if you have access to a computer, please email us.

By whatever means you choose to submit a letter, all of the usual rules apply. Your letter must include your name, town of residence and phone number. Your phone number won’t be published, though. It’s just for verification. And while 600 words mark the limit for letters, know that if your submission is somewhat shorter than that, it stands the chance of getting printed sooner, since we can fit more short letters on a page.

Also, you’ll be asked by the editor if you are related by blood or marriage to the candidate about whom you are writing. Of course, that doesn’t disqualify the letter from being published, nor does it move it up in line for consideration. We’re doing this in the interest of full disclosure, and if you’re the candidate’s brother-in-law or grandmother, that will be published after your name and town of residence at the end of the letter. Transparency and clarity are what we’re after here. It’s only fair to all concerned.

Letter writers are generally restricted to one published submission a month. And as always, we reserve the right to edit or reject all letters. In addition to publication in print, all accepted letters will be posted on our website, www. somdnews.com.

And one last point as we move ahead in the political campaign: We won’t print any letters critical of candidates after the Wednesday, June 20, edition. This will give a candidate a fair chance to respond in print before Election Day.

So feel free to write us about candidates — just play by the rules.