Gary Crooks: Election letters an October surprise

Ballots for Washington state voters were mailed Oct. 19-21, which seemed to be a trigger point for many people to write a letter to the editor.

By that time, we had already accumulated a large backlog. Figuring it would be a waste of time for people to keep writing all the way up to Election Day, I placed a notice in the Oct. 19 letter section setting Oct. 26 as the deadline for election letters. On Oct. 26, another notice ran. On the day after, a “too late” notice was published.

But a weekend-only subscriber wouldn’t see any of those; nor would someone with an online-only account. My fault. Lesson learned.

We rejected letters that missed the deadline, and weren’t able to fit in some that did. Quite simply, we had more letters than space. The desire to run as many as possible (and this newspaper runs more letters than most papers of any size) had to be balanced with, well, balance. Every letter can’t be about the election.

Still, on some days the letters section resembled a vacant lot crammed with competing campaign signs. We could’ve run more election letters, if we chose to ignore everything else going on. But a steady diet of that can be perilous to one’s mental health.

So if you were passed over, my apologies. If you want to increase the odds of being published next time, follow these tips:

Write about a race that isn’t getting as much attention. The presidential brouhaha dominated the thoughts of writers, and we published plenty of those letters all year. So toward the end, I skipped over those. We were also flooded with letters on the 5th District congressional race, so I bypassed some of those in the waning days. Still, both races received the most space, because they drew the most attention.

By contrast, we received a grand total of two letters on the governor’s race. The McMorris-Rodgers/Pakootas race drew more per day. The governor affects your life more than a single member of Congress. A carbon tax or a minimum-wage increase might have greater impact, too.

So the next time you see a glut of letters about one race, try switching your thoughts to another. Chances are, your letter will be published.

Read the letters section regularly and avoid repetition. Toward the end, if a letter repeated the thoughts of an earlier one, I skipped it. Early on, I did not, and I’m seriously rethinking this. I love that people are passionate enough to write, but it’s tedious when so many letters are the same. How many “please join me in voting for” letters can readers (and an editor) take?

Write before October. If you’re timing your letter for maximum impact, you run the risk of it never appearing. Just know that the volume picks up considerably after September. This year, the torrent was stunning.

A final note: This is the last day election letters will appear. So please join me in shouting, “Hallelujah!”

Irony alert! Now would be a great time to write a letter. Seriously. The post-election falloff is inevitable, so space will be available. There’s plenty going on, and regardless of who or what wins at the ballot, the ramifications will be worth noting.

But please include a street address and phone number for verification purposes. Failure to do so is another reason your letter may not have run – that, or exceeding the 200-word limit.

Thanks for writing.

Opinion Editor Gary Crooks can be reached at garyc@spokesman.com or (509) 459-5026. Follow him on Twitter @GaryCrooks.