How to Best Communicate with Our Legislators

For more information about what is least effective and most effective in communication with your legislators (from http://www.govtrack.us/)

What to include in a letter and how to send it

But if you are going to write, how do you do it? Visit your representative's website and look for a "Contact" page. You'll always find either an email address or, more commonly, a form to fill out. Congressional staffers say the following things are important to making your message influential: including your name, address, and ZIP code so the staff can verify you are a constituent of the Member of Congress, referencing specific legislation rather than a general issue by bill number and title, talking about the impact of the bill on the district or state, and your own reason for supporting or opposing the bill.

While 90 percent of Congressional staff thought these items were helpful, less than 68 percent of staff thought personal stories were helpful. One well-respected organization recommends being: personalized, short, targeted, and informative.

If you intend to write a letter, we wish you good luck! But, you might consider what forms of communication might better serve the needs of your fellow constituents. That is, if letter writing doesn't really work all that well, what else might? Does your representative come to your district for town hall meetings? Does he do online chats? Is his local office responsive to communication? Check out these alternatives and get others on board with broadening the landscape of constituent communication.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/communicatingtips.xpd