A few guidelines about political letters to the editor

We love letters to the editor during election season.

Everyone tells us why we should vote for Candidate X or why we shouldn't vote for Candidate Y.

We read the letters, even if we've already made up our minds to vote for Candidate Z.

There's something about human nature that makes people interested in hearing different opinions (maybe just so they can shake their heads and say, "I might not know everything, but this guy doesn't have a clue.")

Politicians undoubtedly love letters that praise them and curse the ones that don't. The importance of letters, however, may be less important than they think.

We've never heard anyone say, "I'll vote for the candidate who gets the most letters."

Here are some reminders about election-related letters to the editor:

+We will have an early deadline of 11 a.m. Fri., Oct. 20 for political letters. The last issue with election- related letters will be Thurs., Oct. 26. No political letters will be printed in the Nov. 2 edition. This allows us to correct the record before Election Day if a mistake is made. In today's edition, for example, a "For the Record" corrects a factual error that was printed in a letter last week.

+Include a phone number and street address with all letters. This information is for our records. It's strictly confidential but we must have both.

+Please keep your letters short. More people will read short letters than long ones. Your favorite candidate might be a wonderful person, but this is not the place for "War and Peace."

For more information, please see our Letters Policy elsewhere on this page.