We're exactly three weeks from election day-- and as the countdown gets shorter it seems political emotions are growing higher-- especially in one South Bend neighborhood on the northeast side.

Several McCain supporters in that neighborhood are speaking out after getting a nasty, anonymous anti-McCain-Palin letter in the mail.

Newscenter 16 spoke with three families who got the letter in the mail on Tuesday.

They say the mailman said he delivered about eight of these letters to their northeast side neighborhood.

All the families targeted have McCain-Palin or pro-life signs in their yard.

The letter doesn't threaten the people, but takes jabs, with some "choice" language, at their political views.

“I feel like the individual is very angry about some issues,” explains Rita Nedvidek, who received one of the letters.

The letters are handwritten, all addressed to "occupant", and postmarked Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The sender takes jabs at McCain and Palin's characters and writes, "You Republican hypocrites turn my stomach."

He or she also says, "It takes a lot of audacity to put Palin's name on your front lawn."

“The audacity to put Palin's name on my front lawn!” exclaims Kristen White, another neighbor who received a letter. “I mean, I can put whoever's name I want on my front lawn.”

“It makes me really angry that someone would send this. It's fairly anti-American, whole process is. I get to vote for who I want to vote for and you get to vote for who you want to vote for,” adds White.

“I think the letter was sent towards pro-lifers. I think a lot of the comments that were made were regarding Palin and her family and her families’ choices and what they've done,” says Petra Farrell, another neighbor who got the letter in the mail.

Those who received the letter say they're all for free speech, but find it troubling that the sender didn't sign his or her name. “When you are expressing your freedom of speech, you need to sign it. When you send it anonymous, and it's ugly and threatening, then you're using intimidation,” adds Nedvidek.

Meantime, a spokesperson for St. Joseph County's Democratic Party says the letter is out of line. “Obviously, the Democratic Party doesn't condone anything that is threatening anyone in any way, shape or form. We definitely do not condone that,” says Debbie Ladyga-Block, Vice Chair of St. Joseph County’s Democratic Party. “This is definitely someone voicing their opinion and it's unfortunate that they chose this manner to do it.”

“I feel if they really were passionate about it, put an article in the newspaper, put your name in and let people write back, I think that's a good forum. I think it gives everybody a way to sit down and write out their views, let the people post it on there,” says Farrell.

Despite the letter, the neighbors we talked to say their signs are staying up.

Newscenter 16 also contacted South Bend Police about the issue. They said other than some stolen political yard signs, they haven't had any major issues so far this election season.

*** To read a full copy of the letter the neighbors received, click on the pdf link above.