Probably the most talked about issue through the 2012 election cycle in Hartselle is not whether Obama will be re-elected or if Romney will unseat him.

It’s the other election on Nov. 6 that’s drawing a lot of attention locally. That’s right, the vote on whether Hartselle will allow the sale of alcohol.

As we approach the Nov. 6 wet-dry/dry-wet referendum, I have been informed to expect a barrage of letters to the editor before the election. While I normally try to run all letters that we receive in a timely basis, I cannot do that on this issue. That’s because we could receive so many letters on this issue that it could fill up an entire newspaper for the weeks leading to the election.

So here are the rules. We will run a letter from each side in each edition leading up to the election, with the exception of the Oct. 31 newspaper. It’s my policy not to run any letters supporting a candidate or an issue in the edition immediately prior to the vote.

The letters will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. Also, we will not accept letters from the same author. If we don’t receive a letter from either side that week, no letter will run that week and we will not make it up the next week.

Also, we will enforce a 250-word maximum. If your letter doesn’t meet this requirement, your letter may not be published.

If a person wishes to guarantee that their letter is published, you must purchase an advertisement.

The Enquirer will not endorse either position during this election, but we want to do everything we can to ensure fair and balanced coverage of this issue.

Thank you for your cooperation with this and good luck to both sides.