I was chatting with one of my friends recently and we were chatting about contacting a representatives office because she didn't know who to call or what to say.
So (for the Americans) here is some advice from me:
(Disclaimer while I work in politics I do not represent the beliefs of the people I work for) (also every office is a little different)
Okay, here is the thing. We can only technically take opinions from Residents of our state. So its important that you find YOUR state representatives.
Find some by zip code here:
Generally your specific state will also have a website with state and federal representatives.
So, many places will have email options rather than call. I will let you know at least for my office calls or voicemails are kept track of more often. We have a team of people on the phone lines.
I don't know if this is the case in other offices. But in general (if your comfortable with talking with someone for 2 minutes) calling is better than emailing. On those contact my rep info sites they also have the main phone lines for your representative.
I have a bit of a script here for those who have never called or are nervous about talking with an intern on a phone line.
Intern: (THE POLITICIAN) office how can I help you?
You: Hello my name is __________ I am a constituent of (THE POLITICIAN) and a resident of (YOUR STATE). I am calling today about (YOUR OPINION HERE). My phone/email is ______________.
Intern: Thank you for your voice and opinions. I want to assure you (Script that has been given to the interns). Is there anything else I can help you with today?
You: Yes/No. (If yes state more opinions and cycle repeats).
Intern: Have a lovely day then!
I have to say how IMPORTANT it is to say your name. In our office logs we take down all the names to send to our boss to know that there are different people calling in their opinions.
In general we tend to notice if the same number has popped up more than 3 times in a day. Then we can't log it as a new opinion anymore. But if you call once a day, we record a new log for politicians everyday so you can get your name on the daily list again.
5. Does this even matter?
YES. I cannot stress enough. YES
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!
It's our civic duty to do so. But it also gives staffers of politicians reasons to lean one way or the other (regardless of what you call in about). Every call helps.
We take down the names every day and we listen to all the stories that are sent in. Trust that someone WILL listen to what you have to say and it will be written down and sent to the politicians. That is literally our job.
Politics are emotional. These times are emotional. If you need to cry, do it. If you need to cry while on the phone with an Intern, do it. If you need to break away from the script and talk about everyday stories, do it. This is your call. The intern won't judge you for crying on the phone. If you want to shout or express your anger, maybe don't shout at the intern but you can express anger.
But please be nice to the people on the phone. They've had to listen to hundreds or thousands of people in these emotional times. And we're happy to do so. This is why we do this job.
But we're still human. So saying an occasional thank you, might not help your opinion, it does help the person on the other end of the line.
That's all I can think of right now. I hope this helps...for someone at least.
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