Letter to the Editor Election Policy

LYME/OLD LYME, CT – With two local elections approaching, LymeLine has established the following guidelines and deadlines for election-related letters to the editor.

Region 18 Special Election

The Region 18 Board of Education special election is Tuesday, Oct. 6. Letters related to this election should be submitted as soon as possible.

Because of the short time remaining before the election, LymeLine may not be able to publish letters received too close to Tuesday’s special election, especially if they raise new claims or issues that would require a response from a candidate or another letter writer. The editor will consider timing, fairness and the opportunity for a response when deciding whether to publish a letter.

November Election

The deadline for letters related to the November election is noon Friday, Oct. 30.

Letters selected for publication will be published on or before midnight Saturday, Oct. 31.

After the deadline, LymeLine may accept letters that directly respond to a Letter to the Editor published on or after Oct. 30. The response must identify the letter being answered. Response letters selected for publication will be published by midnight Sunday, Nov. 1.

Letter Guidelines

• Letters should be emailed to editor@lymeline.com.
• Letters must not exceed 600 words.
• Writers must provide their first and last names, hometown and telephone number for verification. Writers must also disclose any political or town memberships or affiliations and any connection to political candidates. Only the writer’s first and last name and hometown will be published.
• We generally publish a maximum of one letter every two weeks from an individual writer. During the election period, the editor may accept an additional letter from the same writer within that two-week period if it addresses a different race or directly responds to a recently published Letter to the Editor.
• We will not publish letters containing abusive, defamatory, indecent, libelous, obscene, pornographic, profane, threatening, unlawful, vulgar or otherwise objectionable comments.
• Personal attacks on individuals or groups or organizations are not permitted.
• Letters containing code of any kind or hyperlinks to objectionable material will not be published.

The editor’s decision on whether to publish a letter is final.