If you read my blog regularly, you know I operate with a basic premise:
The most effective way to impact legislation, especially at the state level, is for regular every day voters develop a relationship with their elected official, and use that relationship to share their ideas about issues with their elected officials.
So how do you get this relationship started? I think the best way is with a personal letter and follow that up with a meeting with your elected official in their district office. And a number of legislators suggest this is true. So, what to put in a personal letter? There is no set list of things that must be in a personal letter, but here are some general ideas to consider.
A few general guidelines to get started:
- This is a personal letter, coming from you about an issue that is important to you, and the purpose is twofold. It will let the legislator know how and why you feel a certain way about a specific issue, and it will set the stage for meeting with the legislator.
- It doesn’t have to be real long, in fact shorter is probably better as long as it is a real letter and expresses your personal thoughts. 300-600 words may be plenty to express your point.
- It can be handwritten or typed, but it needs to be a personal letter, and not a form letter.
- You should be a registered voter. While you can write to legislators who don’t represent your area of the state, it may be best to start with your own legislator. Additionally, if I bill is in a committee, the members of that committee may be contacted.
Let’s talk about content: what to put in the letter.
Use these bullet points as a guide.
- If you know how your legislator has voted in the best on an issue, you can thank him or her, or note it.
- Your legislator may take more notice, if your issue is related to a bill they are currently addressing, so know the bill number and what the bill does.
- Share your position about the issue or bill.
- Let the legislator know what you want them to do. This may include voting for or against a bill, signing on as a co-sponsor, or be more or less active in relationship to the bill.
- Share a bit of your personal story with the legislator. Talk about how the bill impacts your or your loved ones directly.
What do you leave out of your personal letter:
- Threats. It accomplishes nothing to say that you will or won’t vote for the legislator based on what they do with this bill.
- Lies. Surprisingly, many people lie as if they need to justify themselves. Things like ” I have voted you..” if you haven’t won’t help you. Just be real and honest.
- Insults. Calling a legislator crazy or stupid will serve no purpose, except to turn them off to hearing your opinions. The Golden Rule is perfect guidance. Treat others as you would want to be treated.
If you don’t know where to send your letter:
You can find the address for your legislator on several web sites. Here are two:
If there is a local or regional organization that is halping promote advocacy work, send a copy of your letter to them as well.