Election season is upon us; tell us what you think

Voting is both a right and a privilege, but it’s also an important responsibility of every eligible citizen.
The primaries are only a few weeks away, and the 2018 election season is shaping up to be a pivotal moment of changing leadership in many levels of government, so it’s never been more important to research ballot options and the candidates you’ll support.
For our local elections, we hope you’ll turn to the Star Herald for thorough, unbiased information in Q and A profiles of city council, school board and county commissioner candidates.
As we do for each election cycle, the Star Herald news team will soon send the candidates in contested races a list of questions about themselves and issues facing their districts, and they’ll have equal opportunity to provide thought-out, detailed answers.
Those answers, in their own words, will be printed in upcoming issues of the Star Herald, and we hope you take the time to read them.
What we also do for each election cycle is restate our Opinion Page policy for letters to the editor. We protect this space for readers to share their opinions on matters of community interest, and during elections, people tend to have strong opinions.
We will not, however, print letters submitted for the express purpose of endorsing or condemning a candidate. That information is reserved for expression in paid advertisements and is handled as such.
Letters must reflect the original thought of the writer (not a form letter sent by a campaign), they must be factually accurate and must adhere to our usual policy of 300 to 500 words
The Star Herald will not print letters containing personal attacks or vulgar letters or any anonymous submissions, and finally, we will not accept political letters in the week just prior to Nov. 6, because it would leave no opportunity for rebuttal, if need be.
While the rules may seem stern, they’re in place to encourage fair expression of views and opinions of our readers, and we truly hope to see letters to the editor about issues and topics that matter to us in Rock County.
Meanwhile, our news team will cover candidate forums and other political events leading up to the general election in an effort to provide every resource possible for an educated voting public.
For questions about our policies or to share ideas on how to improve Star Herald election coverage, call editor Lori Sorenson at 507-283-2333 or email editor@star-herald.com.