How to Get Your Voice Heard in Politics Between Elections
You don’t have to wait four years before you say the next word in government. Presidents are widely reported, but there are also many day-to-day decisions in government, both national and local, that shape our laws and our lives. Here’s how to make sure your voice is heard before Election Day starts again.
Call your congressman
Before a law appears on the president’s desk, it must be written and passed by the Senate and House of Representatives. Three of these congressmen – two senators and one representative – work for you personally . You and your neighbors elect them, which means that you are their boss. And you can tell them what to do. After all, they have to please their constituents if they want to keep their jobs.
So if a bill goes to a vote in the Senate or House of Representatives, or if the Senate holds a hearing to confirm, say, a Cabinet candidate, you can call the people who work for you and tell them how to vote. if they need your support . They and their staff will calculate how well your message relates to what they heard from other participants, so there is no guarantee that your representative will do what you ask. But if you manage to get a large enough group of people together to overwhelm them with the same message, she will have to pay attention to it.
You can learn the basics of how and why to do this with Emily Ellsworth’s tutorial on Lobbying Your Congressman Effectively . Another great resource is The Indivisible Guide , written for Democrats, but based on tactics that worked successfully for Republicans when they were outsiders. It is full of tips on how to get the attention of congressmen and put political pressure on them, whether they agree with you or not, vote or act the way you want.
Here are a few common topics you’ll find in these guides, as well as advice from congressmen and advocacy groups:
- Phone calls speak louder than emails or letters. The heap of mail can be impressive, but the phone that rings all day is impossible to ignore. However, any message is better than nothing, and emails are easy to send .
- Face-to-face meetings are even better. Invite an expert or someone with a personal history – or call out the crowd to protest. You can meet with a local office employee or try to catch the congressman himself at a city hall meeting or cutting the ribbon.
- Only tell your officials what they can control. Your House Representative does not vote for cabinet candidates. Your national senator has nothing to do with a bill in your state senate. None of them have direct control over whether the pothole in front of your house is filled in. Make sure you are reaching out to the right person for the job.
- Call your congressman, not anyone else. They and their staff will listen to people in their area and usually ignore everyone else. If you don’t like what, say, Paul Ryan is doing, call your representative and ask her what she is doing to counter his shenanigans.
If you’re afraid of the phone, write a short script that summarizes your point in one or two sentences. Since most calls end with just a dot on who’s saying what, you don’t need to overestimate the wording. Try something like this for your first call:
“Hi, my name is [NAME] and I am the representative of [LOCATION]. I am calling to ask [NAME OF REPRESENTATIVE] to vote [YES / NO] for [BILL]. “
This works regardless of whether you have a voicemail box or a person. Be prepared to provide your address to confirm that you are indeed a voter, and that’s it – the call will end in about 30 seconds. As you get used to the call, you can do more, but this is a good place to start.
Find out how your local government works
Most of the laws that govern your day-to-day life come from the state or local government , so this is often where you can make the most of your impact. If you’re getting all of your news from national sources, you may be missing out on this fact, so take a moment to browse social media and news sources that will keep you updated on your state’s politics and local issues.
To make sense of all this, you need to know who really represents you. In addition to your senators and national legislature, you probably also have:
- State Representatives / Delegates and State Senators who pass state laws.
- Governor , something like the president of your state; they can sign state laws or veto.
- School advice whose decisions may indirectly affect you whether you have children in school or not.
- Local officials , which may include the city council, county officials, and possibly the mayor. Many states also elect judges .
See who these people are, what they do, and where you are most likely to meet them in person. This tool from the League of Women Voters does most of the work for you.
Government officials have fewer time-consuming people than national representatives, so it may be easier to arrange a meeting with them. You can also attend council meetings and speak at City Hall events.
However, none of these people’s work lasts forever. Check how long the terms of office of your elected officials are and when each will be next re-elected. In doing so, pay attention to the election dates. After all, November is not the only month with voting day. Primary elections are held at the beginning of the year, and in some states local elections and special elections may be held at different times. Watch this now for a valuable chance to help hire or fire an officer of your choice.
Pay attention to issues that are important to you
Now that you know who to contact and how to do it, it’s time to start monitoring your elected officials and addressing issues that matter to you. There’s so much going on in government, you shouldn’t expect to keep an eye on everything.
Set up dedicated Google alerts for your reps and local politicians so you can thank or rebuke them when they do something great. And join groups, local and national, that care about your problems. They can keep you informed about what legislation is in the pipeline and often coordinate campaigns, for example, to call en masse to a specific legislator’s office on a specific day.
If you’re unsure of where to look, this list of human rights organizations might be a good place to start. However, pick one or two. Don’t tire yourself trying to keep up with everything. And don’t just join a national group – look for local chapters as they will have a better understanding of how to comply with local and state laws affecting their case.
Apps like Votespotter (iOS / Android) and Congress (Android) can help you track how your politicians vote on issues of concern. We especially like Countable (iOS / Android) because it provides background information on accounts and the main arguments for and against them. You can also choose which issues to watch out for. The app includes buttons for many different ways to connect with your congressmen: by phone, email, social media, and even the ability to make a short video of your opinion.
Change system
If you always feel like you are voting for the lesser of two evils, this should not be the case. There are things you can do to influence how voting works and the candidates who end up on the ballot.
After the 2020 census, states will be able to change their constituency boundaries. Poorly handled areas are better known as gerrymandering- skew votes in favor of a particular party. But groups like the impartial FairVote are in favor of ending the practice. Many states have advocacy groups on such topics, such as Fair Districts PA .
FairVote is also one of the organizations promoting alternative voting systems, such as ranked voting by choice , which would give third parties a more realistic chance of being elected. In the end, a constitutional amendment is likely to be needed to give third parties a chance to become president, as currently the House of Representatives, not the electoral college, can elect the president if no candidate gains more than 50% of the vote. Another way to shake up the system is to abolish the electoral college entirely.
If you are serious about outside candidates, contact your local green, libertarian, or other outside party and support their candidates in state and local elections. And if you prefer to change the Democratic or Republican Party from within, getting local people involved is the best way to start there too.
Each party has local branches. Go to meetings, join their mailing lists, and start talking about what issues you would like them to focus on. You will also be able to support local government campaigns and have a say in who the party nominates as its best candidates.
Run to the office or help a friend run
Voting and organizing is only part of the picture. You can also be the person in the office. But you will have to start the process of getting on the ballot long before the next election. It takes time to gain the support of citizens and members of your chosen political party, and to comply with any required deadlines, disclosures, or required petitions.
If you live in a sleepy small town where most candidates are unopposed, it can be easy to get on the ballot and even have a chance to win. In more competitive areas and for larger offices, you will have to climb more uphill. But running for office is definitely possible for many of you reading this.
To get started, look for a group – again local if possible – that trains people to run to the office. She Must Run and Emily’s List are about women, and the New American Leaders project is about people from immigrant communities. Your political parties and advocacy groups can also help you get the education you need. If you can’t wait to get started, watch the Candidate College video series , created by the New York City coalition as a non-partisan resource for people looking to learn how to run for office.
Even if you’re not sure if you want to run, learning the process can help you decide where to best spend your efforts. Maybe you want to help someone else with the campaign, or maybe you are content to keep your civic involvement in your own home as you sit there with your phone in hand and an eagle’s eye on the news.