What is the best way to contact my elected official

The Impact

Estimates vary and it is dependent on the individual but the following is a rule of thumb that our representatives use to gage opinion from correspondence:
• Each phone call to the local office represents 10-25 other people
• Each call to their Washington, D.C. office represents 500-1,000 people
• Each email to a federal represents 100-150 people
• Each letter to a federal represents 500-1,500 people
• Each visit to a federal represents 1,000-5,000 people

Making a Phone Call

• Know what you want to say before you call.
• Your call will most likely be answered by a staff person, and it is important to be prepared to leave a specific message.
• Identify yourself as a constituent and if you represent a specific demographic of their voting constituency.
• Let the person know which issue you are calling about. If necessary, he or she will direct you to a staff person that handles that issue.
• Tell the staff person you would like to leave a message for your elected official to support/oppose a specific piece of legislation using the bill number.
• Be brief and do not debate the staff. Your objective with a phone call if speaking to a staff is to go on record in support or opposition to a specific piece of legislation.
• Thank him/her for their attention to the matter, and let them know that you are looking forward and will be watching to seeing how the legislator votes on the issue.

Sending an E-mail

In our technology-driven society, e-mail has become a popular, cost-effective and quick way to share personal views with elected officials. Because of these benefits, legislators receive a high volume of electronic communication. For this reason although I am not discouraging e-mails, for more impact you may consider e-mail with a phone call or faxed letter as well.

• When sending an e-mail, be sure to include the bill number in the subject line. This will help ensure your message receives proper consideration.
• Keep your message brief. State up front why you are writing. Focus on one central issue and indicate what action you would like him or her to take. Keep in mind your message may be read in a condensed reading pane and not opened up to view the entire e-mail.
• Include your name, address, and contact information so you can be easily identified as a constituent.
• Try not to include hyperlinks or attachments to other pages or websites. You have a 95% chance they will not go to the sites or open attachments and more times than not spam filters they use will automatically send whole e-mail to spam folder.

Sending a Letter

• Send the letter if possible to their local office in your district. These generally receive more attention from local staff members and there is less opportunity for them to be lost in the Washington mail system.
• Address your legislator by their formal title: "Dear Senator Jones" or "Dear Governor Smith".
• Include your complete return address so you can be easily identified as a constituent..
• Try to keep your letters to one page, and put your message in your own words. Be short and to the point.
• Ask the legislator to reply, and ask very directly whether he or she will support your position.
• If you’re writing about a specific piece of legislation, include the bill number. A bill number will start with "H" or "HR" for House, and "S" for Senate, followed by a number.
• Where possible, include a short statement about why the bill affects you personally, including any personal experience. Don’t be shy about sharing your expertise in a calm, firm, professional manner.
• Close by restating your request, and indicating that you look forward to receiving a response from the elected official.

You may consider the same format as above but faxing the letter instead. This is still an excellent method to send a personalized letter to an official and will many times have the same impact.

Visiting Face to Face

• Plan ahead and discuss no more than 2 issues.
• Learn everything you can about the issues. Most importantly this includes how the representative stands on the issue and what their public statements have been in regards to it.
• Arrive 10 min before the appointment or at least be on time. Dress neatly and conservatively.
• Refer to him/her by their specific title: Senator, Representative.
• Introduce yourself and tell them why this is important to you
• If they disagree, do not hesitate to stand up for yourself and debate the issue. Do not become over-argumentative keep trying to emphasize the facts and positives and why you feel as you do.
• Most import objective outside of articulating your position is building relationships that may be valuable in the future.