Apology letter to be issued over election mailers

HELENA (AP) — The presidents of Stanford University and Dartmouth College are sending 100,000 letters to Montana residents apologizing for and disavowing election mailers sent by political science researchers.

The mailers sent last week rate whether the four nonpartisan Supreme Court candidates in this year's elections are liberal or conservative. Their use of the state seal makes them appear to be official state documents.

The letter by Dartmouth president Philip Hanlon and Stanford president John Hennessy dated Tuesday urges Montana voters to ignore the mailers. They say no research study should risk disrupting an election.

Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl says the new letter is the best remedy possible the before next Tuesday's election.

Stanford University spokesman Lisa Lapin says the letters are expected to be mailed by Wednesday.