How to Write to Your Legislator

Excellent article!

I wrote to my Senetor 2 weeks ago. hopefully my voice will be heard.

Excellent and timely! Kudos to you!

And don't forget to register to vote and actually vote!

Any response?I wrote my representative.... not even a form letter in return.Of course, I thought nurses could only make progress like management does...By making vague sugar coated threats.... like.....Ahem..... If you don't do something to regulate staffing ratios... all the nurses will organize and take our taxable incomes elsewhere. For example a state that believes in adequate health-care, education, child-care, pay for on call time etc.... Oh God, there's no state like that!

Yes, I got a reply. I've copied it below.

I have written my representatives in the past and either got a simple "thanks for your input", like the OP or some wonderful help from them! Where one can feel powerless......: I am a member of X political party. My representative is of X political party. The ruling party is Y. Y is proposing that which I am staunchly against. My representative is also against it.Writing the representative has no effect on passage of Y's agenda.Sux.

That was an excellent article, and a good example of a well-written, effective letter. Of course, individually authored letters are generally more effective, so it's a good idea to change it up some.Unfortunately, as another commenter has mentioned, too often is seem that our legislators, or their staff, don't even bother to read the letter. I have received canned responses from legislators thanking me for supporting a position that had taken, even though my letter was clearly in opposition to that position. It can be frustrating and, admittedly, most legislators are not particularly interested in representing the positions of their constituents, except for verbiage in an election year. This isn't true of all, however; and when opinions are strong in favor or opposition of one position or another, they can sometimes be persuaded (intimidated) into doing the right thing.A quick, easy, guide finding your federal legislators can be found, either by clicking on the interactive map, the list of states below, or by zip code, on the Citizen Legislator site. Similar sites are available for most state legislators as well.Usually, with the exception, perhaps, of some state legislators, your congress or senate representative is unlikely to read your letter personally. Rather, their staff will compile a list of contacts regarding a specific issue, along with the positions that they are encouraging on a specific issue. These lists are not generally scanned for duplicates so, when something is coming up that you have a strong opinion about, don't be afraid to contact your representative more than once. I have, on occasion, called each of their local offices, as well as their Washington, D.C. office, and have also sent emails, written a letter, and sent a fax, not all on the same day, of course.