P is for Phone Calls #AtoZChallenge
My 2025 A to Z Challenge theme is activism. I’ve been a Black Lives Matter activist for over a decade. I’m not an expert. I do have experience to share and I’m hoping to learn from your experiences, too. We’re all in this together.
Today, let’s talk about contacting our elected officials. I know that it sometimes feels useless in our divided times. We all think that we know whether our elected officials agree with us or disagree with us, based on their party affiliation. To some degree, that’s certainly true.
On the other hand, we have seen impacts in the last month or so. In Missouri (which has a super-majority of Republicans in our state assembly) constituents pushed back on a bill that set up a database of expectant women in the state. The bill was withdrawn. At the federal level, a proposal to shut down call centers for social security was killed after congress heard a lot about it from their constituents.
Who?
The most obvious people to contact are my congress person and the two senators from my state in Washington DC. But there are more people to consider, depending on the issue:
- The President of the United States
- Any cabinet member
- My representatives in my state capital (in Missouri, we each have a representative and a senator)
- My governor
- Other elected officials at the state level (attorney general, secretary of state, etc.)
Where?
Contact information is available from the official websites of elected people. Check house.gov and senate.gov for people in Congress. In Missouri, we find our state representatives and senators at house.mo.gov and senate.mo.gov.
The websites will have a phone number and address for the office in Washington and, also, at least one office in my state or district. If I can’t get through on their DC number, I try a local phone number instead.
What?
Phone calls are the best method for comment on a fast-moving story. But other methods work for longer-term issues.
Most elected officials have a contact form on their website that works similar to an email. If you give them your email address, you will often get a response. It will be boiler plate, but someone had to go to the effort of writing up that response.
Congress people know that postcards and letters take a little more commitment plus the cost of a postage stamp, so they pay attention to those. If you put your return address, someone will have to print out a boiler plate letter on the topic to send back to you.
I saw a proposal, recently, that we all send a letter in an envelope to an elected official every week as a way to gum up the works. I got out of the habit of sending letters during the anthrax scare after 9/11. But as a method to slow down the government and a bonus of supporting the post office, this idea has merit.
When?
For fast-moving stories, the goal is tally marks. When each of us call our senators and congress people, the staff mark down our issue and position on that issue. If 80% of the calls this week make the point that due process is for everyone, then that issue will get the attention of the office. Since I learned that, I’ve made my scripts much shorter. Two sentences is plenty to convey my position on an issue. I heard from a congressional staff person that we earn tally marks whether we talk to a real person or leave a voice mail. If it makes you nervous to talk to a real person, call before or after normal business hours to get the voice mail, instead.
For slower-moving stories (and, unfortunately, the due process issue will be that, too), we can use more thoughtful, written communication. For me, I want to do that when inspiration strikes. I’ve found that it’s important that I do it at that moment. If I wait, the impulse fades and I might not get it done at all.
Why?
Here are the reasons that I think we should be contacting our officials, right now:
- To save our democracy.
- To make our voices heard on issues that we care about
- To remind our elected officials that they work for us
- To remind ourselves that we have agency
Do you have other insights about contacting elected officials?
Our news in Australia had an item of news about Republican senator Chuck Grassley at a public meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. It seemed that the constituents asked questions of the senator and while he did not always give a complete answer he listened to their views.
My daughter was pleased when she wrote too our local member and got a response – she felt heard on the subject.
I was just talking about making phone calls of this ilk on one of my creative check ins yesterday. It feels like a small thing, but all the small things together add up to difference.
I must confess, I’ve never made a political call. However, desperate times call for desperate measure. There’s a first for everything.
I’ve been using an app here lately called 5 calls, which gives you scripts and phone numbers for a variety of issues. Very helpful! @samanthabwriter from
Balancing Act
Sometimes it really does come down to basics, and just do them consistently.
I agree, phone calls are crucial for immediate issues, and they can be quite short and to the point. Clever tip about after-hours calls – that might be the inspiration many folks need.
I often use contact forms to share my concerns and opinions, but I’m also a great fan of snail mail as well. And because it’s clear there are SO very many issues we need to weigh in on, I recently got a supply of postcards printed with a great attention-getting message on the front side.
I spend a great deal of time on FB….as I want to see how people are reacting and what they are saying. IF we voted again, I think he might be toast. I also pray for our country and our democracy. Thanks for your post.
Thank you, Joy, for this reminder about contacting our elected officials. One of the things elected officials in our town do is see who votes. I make a point of always voting. I make myself seen when I do vote, walking right past those who have set up tents outside polling places, smiling, wearing my “I Voted” sticker around as long as I can.