By Ryan Berry
DailyAdvocate.com
DARKE COUNTY — Election seasons are upon us and the Daily Advocate/The Early Bird want to be your source of information for local candidates and issues in the Primary and General Elections in 2023 and 2024. The quick turnaround from the 2023 General Election and 2024 Primary Election means candidates for the 2024 election cycle are beginning to make their announcements. This news outlet does not endorse candidates or issues, but we want to be able to provide as much information as possible so voters can make educated decisions. It is up to you to decide who you want to serve or if you approve or disapprove of an issue. With that in mind, our coverage will take the moniker You Decide.
We will run information across all of our platforms, which include The Daily Advocate, The Early Bird, DailyAdvocate.com and The Daily Advocate/The Early Bird social media pages. The information we will provide will come in the form of press releases from candidates, video debates/forums for contested races, and letters to the editor. We also invite organizations that have an issue on the ballot to send us their information. If there is a group formed that opposes an issue, we encourage them to send in their reasons for their opposition. Individuals are also invited to send in their letters of support or opposition on issues and candidates. We want Your View to be heard.
Candidates for local races, such as school board, village council, county positions, etc., are invited to send in a press release for the race they are running, which election, a brief bio and a description of what they believe they bring to that position. Please keep press releases to 500 words or less. Also, please include a picture of the candidate. Please include your contact information. Contact information will not be published unless the candidate wishes to do so.
Candidacy announcements and information on issues will appear in The Early Bird. We will make every effort to ensure all announcements have a similar placement. For example, if a candidate announcement for school board appears on one of our front pages, all candidate announcements for school board will appear on one of our front pages. We want to be fair to all candidates and to the public because You Decide.
Letters to the editor will appear in the Daily Advocate under Your View. Please keep letters to the editor at 500 words or less and include your name, hometown, and a phone number or email address. The phone number and email address are for verification purposes only and will not be published. The deadline for election related letters to the editor is Thursday at noon prior to the election. For the upcoming General Election, the deadline will be Thursday, Nov. 2, noon, for letters to appear in the Saturday, Nov. 4 edition of the Daily Advocate. The Daily Advocate/The Early Bird will not accept letters that are slanderous or libelous.
If you have any questions relating to what is acceptable, please call 937-569-4312 or email [email protected].
You Decide is an effort to inform voters on local candidates and issues that affect them. The Daily Advocate/The Early Bird does not endorse candidates or issues and will make every effort to give equal coverage. To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].
