Contact Your Elected Officials

Civic engagement is for everyone! Contact your federal, state, and local elected officials and speak up about issues and legislation you support or will negatively impact your community and the Commonwealth.

The best way to contact your elected officials is by phone. When you call an elected official's office, you will either leave a message or speak to someone who works for them. This person's job is to let the elected official know what you said.

Elected officials track how many people call about each issue and piece of legislation. This means that if you can get many people to call about a specific issue or legislation simultaneously, it will make it hard for people in that government office to do anything else but answer calls. This shows elected officials that the public really cares. That could make them think more about their support for the issue or legislation and affect how they vote.

Elected officials care the most about the calls from people who can vote for them. So, you shouldn't call any elected officials who don't represent your area.

Preparing for your call.

Before you call, preparing notes so you know what you want to say is a good idea. Keep your message brief and to the point.

1) State your name, let them know you are a constituent, and provide your address at the beginning of the call.

2) Provide information about the legislation you are calling about, including the bill's name or number. (e.g. H.R. ____, SB_____ or HB_____ ).

3) Hit your three most important points: Choose the three strongest points to most effectively persuade legislators to support your position.