The Oakland Press deadline for election-related letters to the editor was 5 p.m. Friday, July 23.

Loyal readers probably saw the notice we published regularly the past few weeks. We printed it every day last week — for good reason.

We wanted to make sure people understood that there was a deadline. Yet, as we could have predicted, I have been receiving phone calls all this week asking why they can’t submit an endorsement letter for the Aug. 3 primary election.

Some say they submitted a letter last week and why didn’t I get it? I don’t know. I can’t publish letters I don’t receive. That’s why people need to follow up after they send in a submission to make I got it.

Admittedly, some callers may be — shall we say fibbing (I don’t like to use the word lying unless it is absolutely accurate). But, generally, we trust our readers to be honest, as naive as that policy may be. However, we've found that most people usually do tell the truth when it comes to things like this.

We figure if they are conscientious enough to write a letter, they probably are telling the truth. Their mistake was not following through to make sure the letter was received.

It’s important to follow through with all correspondence but it is particularly critical when there are deadlines because pending events, such as the primary election.

We try to accommodate all letter writers and run their submissions as expediently as possible, although currently we have a good two week backlog. But some times we run out of time and that’s unfortunate, because all letter writers have a right to express their opinion and The Oakland Press works diligently to be their vehicle.

Remember, when submitting letters, do so to my e-mail address, which is allan.adler@oakpress.com. Don’t forget, if you’re one character off, it won’t get to me.