Why Contacting Policymakers Is Vital

On many issues, your legislators and other elected officials hear very little feedback from their constituents. This is especially true of educational issues such as you are probably interested in if you are reading this.

Being contacted by even a few voters is often enough to mold or shift a policymaker's stance on an issue, especially if they have not had much voter contact on that issue before. Every letter, call and visit counts.

Important Notes

• While postal mail and faxes that are obviously form letters are low on the totem pole, action alerts often call for them, as they are easy and fast and can produce a large volume of response on an issue. Even if you are presented with a prepared form letter, however, please instead write your own if you have the time. A form letter/fax is the minimum action you should take.
   
• Even personally written e-mail that does not look like a form letter is not presently given much weight by most legislators, partly because of unfamiliarity with the medium, and partly because they cannot generally tell whether you are a constituent or not. E-mail should only be sent as an afterthought, a little extra bit of action. And if you ARE a constituent, say so in the first sentence and include your full name, phone number and postal address as "evidence".
   
• Personal visits are very effective, but take time and effort, and you should be prepared to answer questions. Know what you are talking about. You do NOT need to be an expert, just a reasonably informed and concerned citizen able to articulate your views on the matter you are visiting about - and what you want the legislator to do.
   
• Phone calls to key staffers (or actual legislators themselves) are usually difficult to arrange. The staffers in charge of answering the phone may be reluctant to put you through to the upper-echelon staffers, unless they know you are representing an organization or corporation. It never hurts to ask. One tactic is to call once and ask for the technology issues staffer's name (for most issues this site is concerned about, you'll be asking for this tech staffer). Then call back later and ask for the staffer by name. Be aware that this staffer is both busy and probably more aware of the issues than the general staff, so you may get either a curt response, or at the other extreme, some detailed questions or opinions. The same generally goes for trying to speak to the legislator personally - it doesn't hurt to ask, but you may have to try several times, and be prepared to give your message very clearly and quickly.

• If you are a constituent, say so. You are a constituent if you are in the State Representative's or State Senator's district, for example. Legislators pay 10 times more attention to messages from constituents than from non-constituents, because only constituents can vote for (or against) them in the next election!
   
• If you represent (not the same as "just work for") a corporation or organization, you are better off writing/calling in such a capacity, rather than as a "run of the mill" voter, since legislators tend to perceive organizational communiques as representing a larger set of constituents - or more powerful interests - than individuals' letters/calls, generally speaking. This isn't a particularly pleasant fact, but welcome to the PAC - and lobbyist-infested US political system.
   
• Refer to legislation (including bills, resolutions and amendments) by number and title. It is also often good to mention the primary sponsor, and the topic of the legislation, as well as whether you think it should be supported or opposed. This can usually be accomplished in one short sentence, e.g. "I am writing to urge you to oppose the "Destroy the Internet Act" (H.R.27189, sponsored by Rep. Yojimbo Doodah), a dangerous piece of unconstitutional censorship legislation." [This is just an example. No such bill exists, though various Net censorship laws are just about as bad.]
   
• It is usually a good idea to follow up any letter, fax or e-mail with a phone call.
   
• State YOUR position on the issue (even if you "back it up" by noting that a large organization has the same stance). Give reasons (a good action alert should provide enough material to do so.) If the legislator is doing something right, commend them. If they are doing something wrong, don't issue a condemnation of the legislator; instead, firmly but politely ask for their position or actions to change.
   
• Contact legislators regardless of whether or not their known position is in agreement with your own. If they do agree, your contact serves to support them by letting them know their constituents are behind them. If they do not agree, your contact may help change their minds.
   
• Silly things to avoid saying when prefacing your comments: "I'm a voter" - of course you are, or you wouldn't be politically active enough to be calling or writing your legislator - and, "I'm a taxpayer" - of course you are; we all are. These phrases are not useful, and most staffers have heard them so many times they'll just roll their eyes and probably lose attention. Instead say, "I'm a constituent", or (if you are) "I'm a supporter of [the legislator's name here]".
   
• Don't assume that the legislator him/herself will actually read your message. Almost all communications to policymakers are "filtered" through staffers who tally up voters' pro and con opinions on issues. They do this quickly and often simply making assumptions about what you mean if you are not clear.
   
• Therefore, be very clear about what you mean and what action and/or position you want the legislator to take, and keep it short. It is good to finish your communication with a one-sentence summary that clearly indicates your stance on the issue, what the issue is, and what the legislator should do.
   
• When communicating with legislators and their staffers, or any other government officials, please remember to be POLITE. Rude language and manners, disrespect, accusations, or hostility are likely to cause your message to be completely disregarded as the ramblings of a crank. You want to sound self-possessed, confident, reasonable, and alert. NEVER make threats, no matter how bad a piece of legislation is.  And, of course, don't curse-n-swear at the targets of your letters and calls.
   
• DO finish your letter with an indication that you would appreciate a direct response or at least the issuance of some kind of statement on the issue, if not a personal reply. You can do this by saying something like "I would appreciate hearing your position on this issue" right after your 1-sentence summary at the end.
   
• When passing on an e-mailed action alert to other people do not modify it. Especially refrain from removing cut-off date or the contact information of the organization (s) issuing the alert. Avoid modifying in any way an action alert that bears a PGP or other digital signature, as doing so will invalidate the signature. If you want to add some kind of comment, do so at the top, ABOVE any digital signature headers.