How to Contact an Elected Conservative

eHow
May 3, 2011

Contacting elected officials is effective for making your opinions known, and legislators generally are responsive to constituents’ input. You are more likely to make direct contact with your local and state legislators, but it is not unheard of to receive a response directly from representatives in higher offices, particularly those nearing re-election. Elected officials aim to please their constituents, and thoughtful, well-reasoned letters, emails or phone calls can influence a legislator's decisions.

Identifying Your Legislator
Find the elected official who represents you. VoteSmart.org lists all elected officials at the state and federal levels with their party affiliation. Enter your full address on the home page and you will be directed to a list of legislators for your area. Party affiliation is usually a good indicator of a legislator's conservative or liberal traits. For members of Congress, a more accurate measure is the party unity score, located in the U.S. Congress Votes Database. The color beside each congressman's name indicates whether he sides more often with Democrats (blue) or Republicans (red), and the percentage at the right measures his voting consistency. For instance, a red mark and “97%” beside John Doe's name indicates he voted the Republican preference on legislation 97 percent of the time.

Gathering Contact Information
Find the contact information for your legislator. A search engine query will link you to the elected official's own website, or you can enter your ZIP code on Congress.org and select your representative. Today, email and phone calls are the most effective means of communicating with your legislator. Due to the anthrax scare and other threats following the terror attacks of Sept. 11, letters to congressmen and senators go through a lengthy screening process and can take weeks to reach their destination.

Writing Your Correspondence
Draft your letter or email. The Kansas National Education Association (KNEA) offers guidelines for correspondence that will be well-received and elicit a response. Keep it brief, use facts, and relate your concern with well-reasoned examples of how a decision affects the official's constituency. If you are writing about a particular policy concern, offer specific recommendations and provide your contact information so the legislator can follow up with you.

Etiquette for Addressing Legislator
The KNEA website lists the rules of etiquette for addressing your legislator. Every legislator should be listed as “Honorable” on the outer envelope and inside address. In the salutation, address House members with “Dear Representative ___” and senators with “Dear Senator ____.” During the legislative session, send letters to the legislator's office in Washington or your state's capital. Otherwise, direct your correspondence to their home or district office.

References
The Washington Post: The U.S. Congress Votes Database
Kansas National Education Association: How to Write Your Legislator