Send One Email
“You might want to keep your words-to-exclamation-points ratio higher than one to one.”
Courtesy of Emily Flake
So the thought of calling your representatives gives you heart palpitations? No pressure. An elegantly designed online tool called Democracy.io makes it easy to email your electeds on a regular basis so you can hold their feet to the fire. Or to just say “Thanks, keep the pressure on.” The tool was designed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation to give ordinary citizens easy access to their elected officials.
Like the 5Calls tool, you simply plug your zip code into the Democracy.io form and the tool automatically identifies all three of your Washington legislators and then connects you to an email form that gets sent directly to them. Or send separate emails. Whatever works for you. The tool doesn’t provide sample scripts, but this isn’t a writing quiz. Just say what’s important to you in a few sentences. (See the tips on the Make One Call page.) If you need help, borrow some inspiration from the scripts on 5Calls. Sharing a personal story resonates more than a simple form letter so don’t be shy. Electeds often use these anecdotes in their speeches and other communications.
Action tip: Make a weekly calendar alert on your phone and include the Democracy.io link so you can email right away when the reminder pops up.
Don’t want to or can’t use the Democracy.io tool?
Find contact info for your U.S. Representative here, and your U.S. Senators here. Search by zip code or by state. The point is, find them — and send them a message. And then invite your friends to do the same.
As the organizers at Swing Left note:
“Even in the best of times, civic engagement at a massive scale is necessary to ensure a government that reflects the will of the people.”
You don’t have to limit yourself to writing to your U.S. Representatives and Senators. Write to Republican leaders at all levels. Make it clear they do not have a popular mandate. Write to the chairs of the Senate committees about an issue that’s important to you. Here’s where to find them. Or urge your governor to work to defeat the Trump administration’s attacks on due process and the rule of law. Go to the governors page at USA.gov, plug in your state and then scroll down to the bottom of the page for phone and email contact info.