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provided by the
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
Tips
for Writing to Legislators
- Use the correct
address and salutation (i.e., Dear Senator last name, or Dear Representative
last name, or Dear Governor last name). While the legislature is in
session, send letters to Senate or House offices.
- Be sure to include
your home address in the letter so the legislator knows you are from
their district.
- Use your own
words and stationary rather than form letters or postcards. Personal
letters will carry greater weight. In addition, write legibly or type
-- your letter could be discarded if it is not easy to read.
- Be brief and
clear. Write about one issue per letter. Letters should be no longer
than one page.
- In the first
sentence: give the popular name of the bill and the House or Senate
file number (bill number) if you know it, or specifically describe
the issue you are writing about. Tell your legislator how you want
them to vote.
- Be specific.
If possible, give an example of how the issue affects your district.
Call for a specific action and ask for a response.
- Be timely. Make
sure your legislator will have sufficient time to consider your request.
- Know your facts.
Inaccurate or misleading information will hurt your credibility.
- Be polite in
your requests for support or opposition. Never express anger, make
demands, or threaten defeat at the next election. You will want to
have future contact with the legislator.
- Be constructive.
Explain an alternative or better solution to the problem and offer
to be a resource on the issue.
- Send a note of
appreciation when your elected official supports your issue. When
he or she does not support your issue, explain why you think a different
decision should have been made. It might make the difference the next
time.
Tips
for Calling Legislators
- Make sure to
state your name, address, and indicate that you are a constituent.
- Remember, you
will usually be speaking with a secretary or aide who is keeping track
of pro and con positions on a bill or issue, so the call will last
a very short time. Keep the phone call under five minutes, unless
the aide or legislator prolongs the conversation.
- Since conversations
are brief: be prepared! Plan ahead what you want to talk about.
- Give the popular
name and House or Senate File number (the bill number) of the legislation,
or specifically state the issue you are calling about (i.e. funding
cuts to a specific program located in the Health and Human Services
bill).
- State clearly
whether you support or oppose the legislation and how you want the
legislator to vote. Include a statement about how the issue affects
you personally.
- Listen to the
legislator's point of view. Be polite. Don't threaten.
- Do not lie or
try to talk your way around questions to which you do not know the
answers. Say that you will get back to the legislator or aide, and
then do so.
- Take down the
name of the aide with whom you spoke so that you will have a contact
person in case you need to contact the legislator again.
- Thank them for
their time, both on the telephone and with a note of thanks for the
conversation that includes a concise summary of your opinion.
- Do not call too
often and risk becoming a nuisance.
Tips
for E-mailing Legislators
First, a word of
caution about contacting your legislators via e-mail:
While sending
an e-mail message to a legislator may be more convenient for you than
mailing a hand-written letter, contacting legislators electronically
may not be as effective a tool in making your voice heard. E-mail
communications draw mixed reactions from public officials. Many legislators
resent broadcast e-mails that clog their mailboxes. Others may not
check their incoming messages themselves. This means that your e-mail
message may be one of hundreds that a busy staff member in your legislator's
office must read, process, and forward on to the legislator. Therefore,
before sending a letter electronically, call and ask your elected
officials whether they use their e-mail and whether a letter sent
via e-mail would be effective and appreciated.
There are, of course,
times when electronic correspondence is recommended. E-mail your letter
when:
- Time is clearly
an issue (i.e., if a letter sent by U.S. mail will not reach your
legislator in time for an important hearing or vote).
- Your legislator
has requested information from you and will be expecting to receive
it quickly.
- Follow the same
guidelines in writing an e-mail message that you would for a hand-written
or typed letter on your own letterhead or stationery (see Tips
for Writing to Your Legislators).
- Remember: as
is the case with mass mailings and form letters, e-mail is not effective
if it is a blanket mailing sent out to all members of the legislature.
Make your message personal and specific: send it only to individual
legislators!
Tips
for Visiting Legislators
Legislators value
personal meetings with constituents and advocates who have valuable
information on an issue. The following tips can help you make the most
out of a discussion with your elected officials:
- Always schedule
meetings with legislators rather than "dropping in." When
scheduling an appointment, make it clear that you are a constituent!
- Be respectful
of the legislator's schedule: be on time for your meeting and get
right to the point.
- Keep the meeting
brief and to the point. Excess information may deter the legislator
from gaining an understanding of your core issues and concerns. Plan
what you are going to talk about in advance: what are your key points
to explain and support your issue?
- If a legislator
asks you a question you can't answer, it is OK to say you don't know.
If you can get the information to answer their question, tell them
you will get it to them at a later time.
- Listen carefully
to the legislator's questions and concerns about your issue. Don't
become partisan or defensive if they seem opposed to your position.
Keep the meeting positive, respectful, interesting and full of information.
- Ask them if they
would like more information to clear up questions and concerns they
may have.
- If you feel comfortable
doing so, ask the legislator directly if they support your issues
and intend to vote in your favor (if there is a bill to vote on).
This will give you a better understanding of the level of support
your issue has.
- If possible,
prepare a single-page handout with key information that can be left
with the legislator for her or his future use in either framing a
debate or proposing legislation in support of your issue. As always,
your points should be well-organized, concise, and accurate. Make
sure you have contact information on the handout in case the legislator
has additional questions.
- The goal of your
meeting is to establish good communication lines with the legislator
and to educate them about your issues.
If appropriate, offer them a standing invitation to visit your location.
The best possible outcome of a meeting is to establish an ongoing
relationship with the legislator.
- Before leaving,
thank the legislator for their time. Their time is in great demand
and your courtesy will be well received.
- Follow up your
visit with a letter. Thank the legislator for their support, if support
was indicated, or for the opportunity to present your view. Also,
send any additional information which may have been requested about
your issue or your organization. If you had been unable to answer
a question during the visit, look up the answer and include it in
your letter.
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