To the editor:

The letter from Mr. and Mrs. Kofford caught my eye, as I was one of many Democratic activists making phone calls to fellow Democrats the week prior to the election. I am not familiar with the particulars of the new “no-call” list, but I would think that phone calls exhorting people to vote, to people on political party rolls, do not fall within the purview of that “no-call” list.

Having said that, I hope that Mr. and Mrs. Kofford know that BOTH parties engage in aggressive “get out the vote” efforts, including multiple calls to households. Independent or “swing” voters may receive more calls than anyone, as both parties may target those voters. Furthermore, depending upon who is sponsoring the calls, it may be illegal to coordinate the calls with the activities of any particular campaign. As aggravating as it is (and I know many from both parties who were put out by the volume of calls they received), it is all part of living in a democracy in which recent events have borne out the importance of every single vote. Labeling these activities as “ruthless” clearly mislabels the phenomenon.

Alice A. Lieberman,

Lawrence