Something’s Missing

The Voter Information Pamphlet that the county mailed to voters this spring included statements by some, but not all, candidates on the Tuesday ballot.

That’s a confusing situation that generally prompts hundreds of phone calls from voters asking why some candidates are in and others are left out.

The reason that some candidates were not included in such an obviously desirable piece of campaign literature is simply that they cannot afford it. The cost of the statements, depending on the size of the election district and other factors, runs from several hundred to several thousand dollars. Not all candidates can afford that, so voters wind up being only partly informed. That is unfair, and it defeats the purpose of the statement.

The fair approach would be to print every candidate’s statement in the public mailer--or print none at all.

The county doesn’t have to charge for the mailer. In La Habra the city school district for years has as a matter of policy been mailing such statements of qualification without charge because it wants better-informed voters and is seeking to encourage candidacy, not put financial obstacles in its path.

Those are two good reasons for the county Board of Supervisors to also drop the fees and include all candidate statements in their mailing.