Editorial: Election time, the Sentinel and you: An invitation

Yesterday, people across Central Florida celebrated 250 years of participatory democracy, the "government of the, by the, for the people" that Abraham Lincoln extolled in the Gettysburg Address.

And today, they're getting back the hard work that goes into that principle - that puts names on more than 1 million ballots throughout the region, that sends hundreds of candidates and volunteers into the streets, canvassing and waving signs, or attending forums to let voters know what they stand for.

The Orlando Sentinel has always participated in this process, carrying a 150-year tradition of informing voters about the issues and candidates they will see on Election Day while defending the institution of voting itself. The paper's editorial pages did not always get it right; at times, we endorsed candidates in decisions we'd grow to regret and for a period of time, the paper supported the cruel disenfranchisement of Black voters during the Jim Crow era (an error we apologized for in a 2019 front-page editorial). But over the years, the paper's Opinion staff has made an earnest effort to review candidates for crucial local positions and provide voters with thoughtful recommendations, even as our news department covered races without bias or favor.

Along the way we've listened to readers who wanted more transparency in our endorsement process and more unfiltered information that would help guide their own decisions. They also wanted the opportunity to express their own opinions about candidates and ballot issues.

This year, we're as committed as we've ever been to answer that demand, and we wanted to start by explaining how we reach our decisions in each race.

Our endorsements

In each race, we review our own news coverage, dig through public records and examine each candidate's campaign websites and literature. This is in preparation for our editorial board interviews, which are recorded and will be shared here and on YouTube. If you've watched these in the past, you've noticed one difference from a traditional candidate forum or debate: We do not ask candidates to square off against each other. Instead, we're looking for answers that tell voters how each candidate views the most important issues of the day - what they would do if elected. (We welcome our readers to submit their own questions for specific races.) As we discuss candidates, we're looking for original ideas and solid plans for carrying those ideas forward, and priorities that meet the communities' greatest needs.

Many candidates, when invited to participate, do their own research on the newspaper's historic editorial positions. That leads some of them to decline our invitation. We understand that stance, though we regret it: One of the most important elements we consider is whether a particular candidate exhibits the character to be a responsible leader, and whether their views are a good match to the constituencies they seek to serve. These are qualities that any candidate, regardless of party or experience, can exhibit. As anyone who is familiar with local politics understands, our coverage area takes in many communities that - even though they are side-by-side - embrace political points of view that are often dissimilar. Orlando is not Sanford. Sanford is not Mount Dora. Mount Dora is not Kissimmee.

And we certainly have the utmost respect for candidates who decide to show up even though we might have criticized their positions in the past. That's why we structure the interviews to give each candidate the opportunity to tell voters, in their own words, what they stand for and what they plan to do if elected.

Your turn to talk

But our endorsements are only part of the process. Through our letters to the editor, we invite readers to share opinions on local races, including their own candidate endorsements. In this space, all voices are welcome - even if you disagree with the paper's own endorsements. In fact, when we plan letters, we will often give priority to a point of view that we haven't yet published.

We ask readers to follow the same ground rules that govern our own interviews.

The first: No personal attacks. It's fine to raise questions about a candidate's stated positions or actions, but letters that only serve to denigrate the character of a particular candidate are unlikely to be published. If a letter raises claims that haven't been the subject of news coverage, we do our best to fact-check them; unprovable claims cannot be printed. And letters must include the writers' real name and home city. (We ask that letter-writers also provide an address and phone number but these are only for verification of identity, and are not shared with anyone - including our own reporters - unless the writer gives permission for that.)

In addition to candidate-related letters, we'll also be printing letters on ballot questions. In fact, we've already printed dozens on a proposed constitutional amendment that is set for the November ballot and would drastically cut property taxes for homeowners.

We will select letters for print that present original points of view. It's fine for candidates to encourage their most fervent supporters to write letters, but we can't print letters that were obviously composed by campaign staff or cut-and-pasted from candidates' websites. We have limited space, though we do intend to dedicate more space to letters if necessary. Generally speaking, we stop accepting letters the Wednesday before Election Day (for the August 18 primary, that would be August 12) and strive to wrap up candidate-related letters by the subsequent Sunday.

There is one exception to our open-door policy. For the most part, we are not printing letters from people who are candidates themselves, or those who are clearly acting as candidate surrogates (such as close family members or paid campaign staff). We say "for the most part" because we've encountered a few situations in the past where this policy would be unfair.

But most candidates have ample ability to speak for themselves, so our main emphasis will be on our readers' views. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that your views are not important because you're not a political expert or insider. If you see something about a candidate that impresses you, or hear something you believe is cause for concern, consider this: Most of your neighbors and friends aren't political experts either. Yet you freely discuss candidates and races, and often find value in those discussions. Letters to the editor are just a way to share those impressions with a broader audience.

Finally, a word to those who believe that individual voters' voices are increasingly drowned out by the outsized influence of wealthy donors and powerful elites. That's a valid fear, but one we want to help our readers confront - by doing their own research, listening to what their fellow citizens are saying, adding their own voices to the mix and most of all, by voting. In the end, it comes down to this: One voter, one ballot and the freedom to mark the name of the person who best represents your own viewpoints.This is what democracy is all about, and this is your chance to be a part of the discussion.

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Use insight@orlandosentinel.com to contact us.

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