Tips for communicating with elected officials
Telephone calls, letters, e-mail, and town hall meetings are all great ways to communicate with your elected officials. They are elected to represent you and need to hear your opinions on the issues you care about. Your views can be on their mind when they make their decisions and cast their votes.
Don’t forget to follow up. Thank them if they voted the way you wanted or explain that you still have a concern if they did not. Click here for contact information for your elected official or you can check your local phone book or library for this information.
Call Your Elected Officials
Call your elected officials and let them know how you feel they should vote on a bill or local issue. You may end up talking to their staff. Here are some tips:
- Keep the message short.
- Say your name and what city or area you are calling from.
- Say the bill number or the local issue you support or are against. Say that you hope the elected official will support your opinion when he or she votes.
Write a Letter or Send an E-mail
Writing a letter or sending an e-mail is a good way to communicate with your elected officials. Some helpful tips:
- Use the right title for the elected official. Check their web site to make sure you have their name spelled correctly.
- Be personal and clear about your concerns.
- Mention that you live in the elected official’s district. Include your address so that they can respond to you.
- If you can, find something positive to say about what they are doing.
- Include the bill number or issue you are writing about.
- Provide examples of how the law or issue will affect you, your family, and/or your community.
- You can use this sample letter as a starting point.
Attend a Community Meeting
Community meetings (sometimes called “town hall meetings”) are a good way to get your family and friends together to show support or opposition to a proposed law or local issue, to ask questions, and to meet elected officials and their staff.
Write a Letter to the Editor
Writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper helps others learn about what’s happening in your community, in your state, or in your country. Writing a letter is also a good way to respond to an article you read in the newspaper. Letters must be short and personal. Every newspaper has an address and instructions for sending letters to the editor.
For more tips about contacting elected officials, visit:
