Avera Public Forum - Elected Officials

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Your members of Congress are responsible for giving you a voice in national government. Writing your Senators or Representative is one way to register your views on an issue. While Congressional offices receive large quantities of mail and dozens of phone calls daily, most offices try to track the views expressed by their constituents, and most inquiries receive a written response.

Tips for writing your Senators or Representative:

• Fax and e-mail when possible. Heightened security measures have increased the time it takes for a letter sent by post to reach the offices of federal or state legislators. Increasingly, elected officials’ offices prefer electronic communications for constituent contact.
• Know who to contact. Identify your Representative and Senators. Address, phone numbers, e-mail and biographical information on all members of Congress are readily available online: House of Representatives or Senate.
• Identify yourself. Make sure to include your home address on all letters or other forms of communication. You are important to your elected official because you are a constituent and a voter who is expressing your views on issues that are important to you, not because you are a part of a national network or organization.
• Be formal, polite and thoughtful. Letters should be addressed to “The Honorable __” on the envelope and the address line, and as “Dear Senator ___” or “Dear Representative ___” in the salutation. Avoid using inflammatory language and present your specific concern in a personal and thoughtful way.
• Be brief and direct. Try to be concise in communicating your concerns. State your purpose for writing in the first sentence of the letter. Consider limiting yourself to two paragraphs, as short correspondences can be as effective as lengthy ones, and are often more clearly understood.
• If your letter pertains to a specific piece of legislation, identify it and make sure that you are referencing the correct legislation and know the status of the bill.
• Address only one issue in each correspondence.
• Follow-up. Congressional offices receive volumes of letters, e-mails and phone calls everyday. If you do not receive a response to your first request, follow-up with a phone call or an additional letter referencing your earlier correspondence.