CALLTHEHALLS

c o n ta c t i n g your r e p r e s e n tat i v e s

THESMARTWAY
b y e m i ly e l l s w o r t h
Citizen’s Guide to Lobbying Congress | Emily Ellsworth A
 contents
RESEARCH | 1

FINDING YOUR NICHE | 4

HOW TO CONTACT
YOUR REPRESENTATIVE | 5

USEFUL SCRIPTS AND TEMPLATES | 10

TOWN HALL MEETINGS | 10

IN-PERSON MEETINGS | 12

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS | 13

CONCLUSION | 15

CHECKLIST | 16

ABOUT THE AUTHOR | 18

ABOUT THE COVER: “Acrylic DC Capitol - Red White & Blue” by Nicolas Raymond is licensed under CC BY 3.0
DESIGN BY: Jerilyn Pool Designs Stuff and Things
 introduction
On November 11, 2016, I began a series of our constituents. It is free to download and
tweets with “I worked for Congress for 6 years, distribute, but if you find the information
and here’s what I learned about how they worthwhile, I’d appreciate a contribution.
listen to constituents.” I then tweeted out a few
At the end of this e-book, you’ll find a sheet
tips on how regular people could take action
checklists and worksheets that you can use to
after an election when many felt powerless
write down your research. I hope they will be
and angry. Within days, the tweets had been
useful to you as you start to learn more about
viewed over 25 million times with 14 thousand
how Congress works and how it represents you.
retweets. By the following Monday, the phone
lines in Washington, D.C., were flooded with It can be discouraging to see your
calls from people talking to congressional representatives not taking action on things that
staffers about their frustrations with political matter to you. It’s also important to set your
appointees and requests to investigate expectations properly. You won’t change your
the incoming administration’s financial representative’s mind right away. In most cases,
entanglements. you’ll see more failures than successes.

The response was overwhelmingly positive and However, despite the uphill battle, a more
hundreds of people reached out to me to let me engaged constituency always leads to more
know that my specific advice on how to effect compromise and conversation. When we only
change in Congress led to them making phone allow those in the extremes to dictate the
calls to their representatives for the first time in conversations, we grow further apart.
their lives.
These tips and tricks will not work for every
However, not everyone has Twitter and tweets situation and with every office. However, once
aren’t easy to aggregate into a simple, readable you start to engage with your representative,
and shareable document. This short e-book you’ll learn more about how to best reach your
serves as a guide to what I experienced as a own representative.
congressional staffer and how we listened to
research
If you’re starting from square one in citizen
activism, getting in touch with your members of
Congress can seem overwhelming. However, with
a little preparation, you can feel more confident
reaching out with a phone call, email, letter, or
meeting. Here are a few things you should know
before you start making phone calls.

KNOW WHO REPRESENTS YOU FEDERALLY AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

IN YOUR STATE
“Also referred to as a congressman or
During presidential election years, most voters
congresswoman, each representative is elected to
focus on the candidate on the top of the ticket
a two-year term serving the people of a specific
and pay less attention to their congressional
congressional district. Among other duties,
representatives in the House of Representatives
representatives introduce bills and resolutions,
and the Senate. These elected officials more
offer amendments and serve on committees.
directly represent you and are the offices
The number of representatives with full voting
where you have the most power in the federal
rights is 435, a number set by Public Law 62-5
government. You should be familiar with
on August 8, 1911, and in effect since 1913.
their names, their policies, and how best to
The number of representatives per state is
communicate with them.
proportionate to population” (The House of
UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE Representatives).
CAN AND CAN’T DO
Members of Congress are legislators, so their Since the House of Representatives divvies out
primary roles are writing and voting on laws that representation based on population, generally
then go to the Senate for a vote or the president for your representative is at the front lines of
a signature. They don’t have the power to litigate or representing you to Washington. You can find
prosecute. When you contact your representative, out who your representative is by visiting
you make better use of your time if you discuss the House of Representatives’ website. Once
issues that they can directly influence. you know who your representative is, do the
following:
Also, know the difference between a state
legislator and a federal representative. • Bookmark their website for easy access later.
Issues such as local funding for schools, road • Save the phone numbers for both their D.C.
construction, or a dead deer in your yard are office and state office closest to you in your
handled on a state and city level. Sidenote: Yes, phone.
the dead deer in the yard thing was an actual call • Sign up for their email list if they have a form
I took once. I actually was able to get someone on their website.
from the city to take care of it. • Follow their social media accounts.

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 1

You may also want to note any committees like Medicare, Social Security, defense,
they serve on, since that should give you healthcare, research, or any other federal
some insight on the issues that are most spending program, you’ll likely start with your
important to them. If your representative holds congressperson.
a chairmanship or position on a powerful
Congressional budgets and staffs are relatively
committee, it’s even more important to
small. The two members I worked for had
direct your concerns to them about relevant
about 15 staff members in their state and D.C.
legislative topics. Here are the current standing
offices combined, and that number seems fairly
committees in the House of Representatives:
consistent with current staff reports (source).
Agriculture
Appropriations Sidenote: The powers of impeachment also lie
Armed Services with the House of Representatives. The House
Budget Judiciary Committee is the one that brings
Commerce articles of impeachment, but the Senate is
Education and the Workforce chamber that holds the trial.
Ethics
Financial Services
Foreign Affairs
Homeland Security
House Administration
Judiciary
Natural Resources
Oversight and Government Reform
Rules
Science, Space, and Technology
Small Business
Transportation and Infrastructure
Veterans’ Affairs
Ways and Means

The House of Representatives and the Senate

have similar roles with a few differences. For
instance, the House is known for having the
“power of the purse” (source). This means
that all spending bills originate in the House
of Representatives. So, when you need to talk
about budgets or appropriations for programs

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 2

THE SENATE Here are the standing committees of the U.S.
“The Senate of the United States shall be Senate:
composed of two Senators from each State” [U.S.
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
Constitution, Article I, Section 3, Clause 1].
Appropriations
The Senate is the smaller of the two legislative Armed Services
bodies, and both senators represent the entire Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
state. This means that for larger states such as Budget
California, Texas, and New York, each senator is Commerce, Science, and Transportation
representing millions of people. However, along Energy and Natural Resources
with their larger voting populations come larger Environment and Public Works
budgets and staff to compensate. Finance
Foreign Relations
Finding your senators is easily done on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Senate’s website. Once you’ve determined who Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
your senators are, do the following: Judiciary
• Bookmark their websites for easy access Rules and Administration
later. Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Save the phone numbers for both their D.C. Veterans’ Affairs
office and state office closest to you in your
The Senate has a few special roles that the House
phone.
of Representatives does not. The most notable of
• Sign up for their email lists if they have a
these is confirming presidential appointees and
form on their websites.
giving advice and counsel on treaties.
• Follow their social media accounts.
PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES
Once you’ve got their contact information “The president nominates all federal judges
handy, take a look at their websites and find in the judicial branch and specified officers in
the committees they serve on and what specific cabinet-level departments, independent agencies,
issues seem to be of most interest to them. the military services, the Foreign Service and
This will make it easier for you to tailor your uniformed civilian services, as well as U.S.
message to them and maximize the impact of attorneys and U.S. marshals” (source).
your contact.
Presidential appointments and the Senate
hearings for said appointees are important and
strictly under the purview of your senators. If
you have a strong opinion about a presidential
appointee—including appointments for the
Supreme Court—it’s important that you contact
your senators about them rather than your
House of Representatives member.
CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 3
TREATIES
“The Senate does not ratify treaties—the Senate
approves or rejects a resolution of ratification.
If the resolution passes, then ratification takes
place when the instruments of ratification are
formally exchanged between the United States
and the foreign power(s)” (source).

When a treaty comes before the Senate, your One of the other advantages of getting involved
elected officials play a role in discussing with local groups is that your message and your
the treaty as well as passing resolutions to voice are amplified by working in numbers.
ratify it. Make sure you are in contact with As a group of citizen advocates or as part
your senators when major treaties are being of a lobbying group or other professional
discussed in order to voice your support or organization, you’ll be able to set up
opposition. appointments with staff, create specific calls to
action, and pool your resources.
When compared to House staffs, Senate staffs
are much larger—the average senator’s office This works on both a federal and a local level.
has 40 staffers in their D.C. and state offices Once you start networking and connecting
combined. These staffers handle constituent with other people in your community, you’ll
correspondence, casework, and legislative learn more about your state legislators, city
duties. council members, mayors, and other influential
lawmakers.
finding your niche
Who knows, you might even find yourself with
Once you’ve done your research on your enough of a network and support system that
representatives and know which issues to you’ll run for office.
bring up with which chamber, you can focus
on a few key issues. Here’s how to start your research and define
your niche:
It’s tempting to call your representative
• Write down the issues that are most
about every move made by the president
important to you.
and his administration, but this is generally
• Determine your bandwidth and amount of
a formula for burnout and can be derailed
time you can dedicate to volunteer work.
by misinformation. If you, like most people,
• Search Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn for
don’t have time to do significant research into
groups in your area. You can be as broad or
committees, rules, amendments, and other
as specific as you’d like.
nitty-gritty details of legislative work, there are
• Visit their websites and attend volunteer
a wide variety of advocacy groups who will do
orientations.
that work for you.

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 4

 SOCIAL MEDIA
h o w t o c o n ta c t
Most representatives have Facebook and Twitter
y o u r r e p r e s e n tat i v e accounts, or even Youtube channels. These
For the past decade, the Congressional accounts are managed by staff and even the
Management Foundation has researched and representatives themselves.
published studies on the most effective ways
to contact your representative. Their work I worked for two members of Congress who
is important because they have surveyed each handled their social media interactions
hundreds of congressional staffers and can give differently. One of my bosses tweeted himself,
a broader view of Capitol Hill and how it listens and the other usually had our press person
to constituents. handle tweeting. However, I believe that they
both saw social media as a way to communicate
In my experience, I found that most people their messages quickly and easily rather
never contacted their representatives. In fact, than as a way to engage in a discussion with
very few people are civically engaged enough constituents.
to know who their representatives are or
recognize their elected officials’ names when Social media is obviously a quick and easy
they are on the ballots every two years. This solution for you to communicate with your
means that anytime you are communicating member of Congress, but at the same time,
with your elected officials, you are likely doing it has significant disadvantages. According to
more than your neighbor. the Congressional Management Foundation,
only 36% of staffers felt like social media
As a constituent, it’s easy to feel like your profiles had enough information to identify a
voice doesn’t matter. You may write about commenter as a constituent. It’s an onerous task
your feelings on Facebook or in a conversation to determine location in a social media profile,
with a friend, but your representatives aren’t and most staffers aren’t going to take the time
privy to those conversations. And if six years in to do it.
Congress taught me anything, it’s that offices
need to hear more from those in the middle Social media is very useful for spreading a
rather than the fringe opinions that burn up the message quickly and effectively. My viral tweets
phone lines and flood the email inbox. were certainly evidence of that. In fact, in the
week after the tweets went viral, several specific
calls to action, scripts, and spreadsheets with
phone numbers also spread quickly on Facebook,
Twitter, and Tumblr. So, don’t discount social
media as a powerful platform for advocacy and
social change. But, also recognize that Congress is
slow to adopt new technology.

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 5

EMAILS
Email is the other quick and inexpensive
electronic communication. Every representative
has a form on their website to take constituent
messages. They have forms rather than email
addresses is for security reasons. They can’t
risk viruses and spam coming into their inboxes
and compromising the security of their offices.
Individual staffers use email addresses as do the
representatives themselves, but it’s best to stick THE MORE PERSONAL, THE BETTER
to the forms at first. As mentioned above, form emails that come
from websites where you just put in your name
Emails received from a representative’s and ZIP code are batched easily. Lots of emails
website go into a constituent correspondence on one particular issue show that there is
system (for those who know sales and interest in a policy or piece of legislation, but
marketing terms, it’s essentially a CRM). Each the impersonal nature of form emails can dilute
representative gets to choose which system they their impact (source).
use. The most common systems are IQ (built by
Lockheed Martin) and iConstituent. However, a large number of emails on one
specific issue that constituents personally wrote
Your email is entered into the system with your can have a tremendous impact. Heartfelt and
name, mailing address, email address, and personal stories from constituents about how
message. The system will recognize form emails a specific piece of legislation affects them can
immediately and group them all together. This serve a couple important functions.
makes it easy to see all at once exactly how
many emails were received on a subject and First, these emails aren’t easily batched. Since
compose a form letter in response. Staff can they don’t contain the same language, a staffer
also search by keywords and add those emails has to read them individually. A hundred
into the correct batches. emails with the exact same message wouldn’t
be passed along to the representative, but one
It’s up to staff how specific they want to get on persuasive email with a personal story is likely
those batches and which emails they end up to make its way around the staff as well as to
assigning, and it’s a task that takes a surprising the representative.
amount of refining. Our staff always tried to
walk the line between making sure individual Second, the power of an individual story is the
messages were read and given a proper thing that changes the minds of lawmakers.
response, and not devoting excessive amounts Rachna Choudhry, co-founder of POPVOX writes,
of staff time to writing and grouping letters. We “Savvy advocacy organizations encourage their
didn’t always hit the mark on this, but a few supporters to share their stories in their own
things stuck out when we were sorting letters. words, rather than rely on form letters.”

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 6

ASK FOR SPECIFIC ACTION The most effective emails outline the legislation
The best letters are the ones that are specific or issue you are concerned about, your personal
and heartfelt. Congressional staffers want to story, and a call to action. This shouldn’t
give you a direct response to your concern, and take you more than a couple paragraphs.
it’s much easier to do that when you make a Additionally, a respectful tone feels more
clear request. like an invitation for discussion rather than a
screaming match. Your legislators and their
So, include a bill number or some other
staff are just like you: they would rather have a
important action item, as well as what you’d
passionate and respectful disagreement than be
like your representative to do for you. The more
screamed at in all-caps.
information you have about the legislation, the
better, but a bill number or amendment name PERSONAL LETTERS

is good to start. Then, identify the action. These If you want someone to read your message, one
actions can include cosponsoring legislation, of the best ways is to write a personal letter.
voting for legislation in a committee or on the However, since 9/11, congressional offices have
floor of the House, or releasing a statement on new ways of handling mail. Mail sent to D.C.
presidential appointments. offices goes through scanners and can take
weeks to arrive. Mail sent to state offices goes
BE BRIEF AND RESPECTFUL
through normal postal systems and only takes a
Emails that contain walls of text with copied
few days.
and pasted information from articles are
frustrating and hard for staff to read. From time When your letter arrives, a staffer or intern will
to time, we’d get requests from constituents to read it, scan it, and put it into the constituent
send attachments with news articles or other correspondence system. Then it will be batched
reports. That information is generally not with emails and a form letter will be sent in
necessary. response.

The effectiveness of a letter is similar to an

email. It’s important to keep your letter brief,
targeted, and from the heart. Staffers often look
for letters they can pass along to their bosses,
so the more personal, the better. Be sure to
include your information on the actual letter so
you can receive a response in return.

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 7

PHONE CALLS 1 Only call the representatives who
The Congressional Management Foundation represent you. It may be tempting to go
mentions phone calls in their report: down a list of senators and representatives
and voice your opinion. However, this is
“While the vast majority of grassroots
not an effective use of time for you, and
organizations seek to engage Members of
it’s frustrating for offices that are trying
Congress in a genuine dialogue about issues,
to communicate with their constituents. I
there is a minority that consider it a point
also believe it’s unfair for constituents of
of pride to effectively shut down a Member’s
those offices. If the phone lines are tied up
office. Usually, this is done by sending such high
because out-of-state callers are flooding the
volumes of e-mail, telephone calls, faxes or letters
office, their constituents can’t get through.
that a Member’s entire staff has to be temporarily
So, call your representatives and urge
re-assigned to manage the communications. This
your friends in other districts to call their
practice does attract the attention of Members
representatives. Don’t aim to shut down the
and staff, but perhaps not in a constructive way.”
office every day.
In my original tweets, I mentioned the impact 2 Identify yourself as a constituent. One of
of a few of these phone calls in our office. the most important aspects of a phone call
There were a few times during the six years is to make sure the staffer knows you live in
that I worked there when we received a flood of their district. You can provide your ZIP code
phone calls about one specific issue and it tied or city to the staffer if they ask.
up a good portion of our time. However, when
3 Call the D.C. office as well as the state
they were respectful phone calls, it wasn’t a
offices. Pick one office to call and voice
negative experience for me or my interns.
your opinion. Many callers choose the D.C.
I believe phone calls have a significant impact office because that’s where most of the
because of their immediate call to action. It legislation happens. However, state office
requires an office to formulate a response staffers are members of your community.
right away and in our district office, we began They usually live within the district
tallying calls immediately when we received and are tasked with specific constituent
a large number on a specific topic. I also liked assignments.
hearing the voices of constituents because they 4 Call once about an issue. It’s not
felt more personal than an email or letter. necessary to call daily or weekly about an
issue. Again, the point is to have a large
However, I also agree with the CMF’s
number of phone calls about an issue, but
assessment that large amounts of calls can be
once you’ve told your story, it’s important
disruptive in a bad way and they should be
to allow time for others to do the same.
used responsibly, so you don’t damage your
However, if you have new information
message:

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 8

 about an issue or a separate issue, make a 7 Be brief and respectful. Being a
separate call. Like emails, phone calls are congressional staffer is like being the
better when they are targeted. customer service representative for the
federal government. It can bring out the
5 Tell your story on the phone to the
worst in people. You may disagree on
staffer. Be specific about how a piece of
every issue with your representative, but
legislation, presidential appointment, or
it’s not helpful to yell or be profane on the
other policy will affect you. If you have
phone. When I trained interns on taking
specific expertise in an issue, make sure the
phone calls, I made it clear to them that
staffer knows that. It’s okay to be emotional
they weren’t expected to take abuse from
or passionate about your concerns.
constituents on the phone. So, keep your
6 Ask for specific action. As with an email, phone calls to a couple minutes or less, and
make sure you know your call to action in be kind to the person on the other end of
advance. The most obvious thing is to ask the line. It’s okay to ask questions or press
for a vote or position on a specific piece of a staffer on an issue, but keep the language
legislation with the appropriate bill number. clean and your volume down. It’s not only
If you’re calling about something related to the right thing to do, it’s the best way to get
the presidency, make sure you know what them to listen to you.
you want your representative to do. In
many cases, they don’t have the power to
control the executive branch. But, you can
ask for statements or positions on a topic.
If the staffer isn’t sure about a position, you
can ask to speak with someone else or just
ask that your opinion be recorded.

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 9

useful scripts and
t e m p l at e s
If you’ve never contacted your representative
before, you might want some help framing
a message. In this day and age, talking on
the phone can feel unnatural. Trust me, the
first time you call is always the most nerve-
wracking. In most cases, once you’ve had a
good conversation with a staffer, you’ll feel
more confident going “off-script.”

Again, your own personal story is what matters town hall meetings
here. So, if you’re able, customize your script to As a staffer, I noticed that there were
match your own experiences, fears, and desires. constituents who wanted a direct connection
This means more to the other person on the to my boss. Since we represented 700,000
other end of the line. constituents or more, it simply wasn’t possible
to have a face-to-face conversation with every
Kara Waite’s Google document (We’re His
voter. My bosses relied heavily on their staff
Problem Now) is a list of calling scripts and
to interact with constituents and pass along
phone numbers has been incredibly helpful to
important messages. However, we also planned
people who need to know where to start.
town hall meetings to offer constituents the
However, if you want to make your own personal opportunity to ask questions directly to their
script, here is how I would formulate it: representatives.

1 Identify your name and city. Not every representative has public town hall
2 State your specific call to action and pose meetings. If your representative is one of these,
your question to the staffer. you can call the office or email and ask to know
about upcoming meetings, but it’s also possible
3 Wait for a response from the staffer.
you’ll need to just stick to emails, letters, and
4 Tell your personal story about why this phone calls.
particular call to action matters to you.
Representatives advertise town hall meetings in
5 Ask for your opinion to be recorded and
a few different ways:
end the call.
1 Email. Constituents who have signed up for
In my opinion, this is the most powerful regular email updates will get notifications
formula that will affect the person on the other about town hall meetings. It’s easy and
end of the phone. cheap to send out these notifications. So,
sign up at your representative’s website.

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 10

 2 Mail. Elected officials can buy mailing you’d like to ask. This gives you a higher chance
lists and send out postcards to constituents of having your question selected and asked.
in the neighborhoods where they will be
One thing that representatives and their staff
holding town hall meetings. There isn’t a
are mindful about during town hall meetings
good way to get on the mailing list, and
is that if you give someone a mic, they’ll use it
these postcards can get expensive.
as an opportunity to command the room. So,
3 Social media. Some representatives sometimes representatives and their staff ask
announce their public meetings on their that you write your question on a piece of paper
Facebook and Twitter accounts. so it can be asked succinctly and they can fit in
4 Call the office. You can always call more questions.
the state office and ask if they have any
None of the representatives I worked for used
meetings planned.
pre-selected questions. We didn’t filter out only
Town hall meetings are sometimes held during the ones we wanted to answer, and we didn’t
the day, but they generally take place in the plant questions in the audience. It’s possible
evening. If you can attend these, you should. that this happens in these meetings, but I was
In 2009, the first few town halls my office held never part of a team that did that.
had nearly 1,500 people. This was during the
In some cases, we had a mic that we gave to
debate about healthcare reform and we had to
people to ask questions. If this is the case in
book very large venues. However, in subsequent
your town hall meetings, remember that the
years, we had anywhere between 25-150
more brief and pointed your questions, the
people attend our meetings. I also heard from
better. Taking a lot of time to ask a rhetorical
other staffers that it wasn’t uncommon to have
question or prove a point may seem like a good
no one show up at their public meetings.
way to put pressure on your representative, but
Town hall meetings are particularly important for it’s frustrating for others in the audience and it’s
millennials and younger voters to attend. In my not effective if you want to have a conversation
experience, town hall meetings were frequented about a topic. It’s okay to question the logic of a
by older voters. This meant we didn’t get to meet policy and to be critical, but make sure there is
or hear from young voters. It was a demographic a specific question.
I felt particularly passionate about and I wished
Staff are usually in attendance at town hall
we had more involvement. I understand that in
meetings, so you can take a few moments
many cases, work schedules don’t accommodate
before or after to talk to them.
attending meetings and it can be hard to find
childcare for young families. But, if you can find a Sidenote: If you are a business owner or run
way to make it work, do so. an advocacy group, it’s worth reaching out to
congressional staff about setting up a town hall
It’s a good idea to bring several people in a
meeting at your place of business or about a
group with some ideas about specific questions

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 11

specific topic. If you can help facilitate a venue
and provide a good audience, it’s something
that most staff would be amenable to. We often
had informal talks with employees at local
businesses and the representative answered
questions. In fact, my bosses liked these
meetings much more than formal presentations
from executives.

in-person meetings
If you have a group of people who are all
concerned about a specific issue, consider
setting up a meeting with a staffer to talk about
your concerns as a group. In most cases, it’s not
feasible to go to Washington, D.C., to speak to
the representative, so start with a meeting with message across, be prepared to share your
a staffer. These meetings can be set up with personal stories.
a field representative or legislative staffer in
If you’d like to leave some sort of information
advance.
or a fact sheet behind, feel free to do so.
It’s easy to set up these meetings—just make However, don’t leave anything too long. One to
a phone call to the state office closest to you. two pages is a good balance between enough
You can ask to speak with the person in charge information to digest but not so much that it’s
of the legislative issue you’d like to discuss. overwhelming.
Let them know that you are part of a group of
If you get to know the state office staffers,
concerned constituents and that you’d like a 15-
you’ll be able to develop relationships and
to 30-minute meeting with a staffer.
know better how to communicate with them.
If your group has a specific expertise, let the Don’t be afraid to ask about the issues the
staffers know. I had meetings with groups representative cares about the most or how best
of physicians, lawyers, teachers, engineers, to communicate with them. It’s information
farmers, small-business owners, and many most staffers are willing to give and it will help
others. If legislation affects you and your you shape your message and its delivery.
community, your representative needs to hear
During your meeting, be brief and polite. Don’t
your perspective.
take up more time than you’d planned and
At these meetings, you’ll need to be prepared make sure that if you’re coming from a place of
with what you’d like to bring up as well as your opposition, you signal your respect and desire
specific call to action. And, keeping with the for sincere dialogue.
theme of the most effective ways to get your
CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 12
 state offices and D.C. office meant for their
f r e q u e n t ly a s k e d
constituents. I never worked in a leadership
questions or committee office, so I’m not sure how they
I disagree with my representative and they tally or record public opinions. Just make sure
will never change their position to agree with you have a targeted question and that you are
me. Should I still call? calling the proper office.

Yes. We are all in danger of existing in an Did these tactics ever work in your offices?
echo chamber. During my time working in The most notable change in position from
Congress, we often heard from people in a lot of phone calls and emails was SOPA
the extremes. More moderate or respectful in 2012. This was an internet privacy bill
people didn’t often take the time to call. that was championed by some in the tech
In every instance, I would have preferred community, but opposed by sites like Reddit,
listening to and having a discussion with a Google, and Wikipedia. They launched a
respectful constituent who disagreed with blackout campaign and encouraged their
our position over being yelled at by someone users to contact Congress.
who agreed with us. (Yes, that happened a This resulted in the bill being stalled in the House
lot). Constituents who let us know why they Judiciary Committee until the representatives
disagreed had important things to say and we could make improvements to the bill.
didn’t hear from them enough. So, it’s crucial That’s one specific example. However,
to let your representative know that you’re I’ve heard others from committee and
paying attention and that you disagree. congressional staffers. Many pieces of
legislation introduced stem from a particular
I agree with my representative and like what problem or pattern that emerges from
they are doing. Should I still call? constituent communication.
Yes. Offering encouragement and suggestions
to your representative is important. It’s not Can I use these tips with my state legislator
fun to only take calls when people are upset or city council member?
about your position. It’s good to hear from I never worked on a state or city level, so I
constituents who agree with you and want to can’t speak from experience. However, I’ve
thank you for your vote or position on an issue. found that nearly all levels of government
work the same. State legislators often don’t
Should I call the Speaker of the House or the have any staff, so you can arrange in-person
Majority Leader in the Senate? meetings with them easily. City councils meet
That’s up to you. They do have contact forms often and it’s easy to attend public meetings
on their websites and phone numbers for their and get on the agenda. Also, having a group
leadership offices. If you are going to reach of like-minded individuals always strengthens
out, use those numbers and forms rather your position and makes a greater impact
than the phone numbers or forms for their than trying to go it alone.

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 13

I’m disabled and can’t make phone calls. Will Are voicemails as important as phone calls?
my voice still be heard? Should I leave a message or call back?
Yes, please still send an email or a letter If you get a voicemail recording, leave a
or whatever you can do. The delivery is message. If you want to follow up with a
secondary to your individual message. Make phone call later, that’s fine too. When we had
sure your message is heartfelt and personal. lots of voicemail messages, we had a staffer
It will be read and responded to just the same or intern go through them, make a note of
as a phone call, and you shouldn’t ever feel the position and location of the caller, and
discouraged from using those methods to tally the call along with the other calls we
communicate. received.

Do Twitter or Facebook really accomplish What if their voicemail boxes are full and I
nothing? Some representatives respond. can’t get through?
I still think it’s worth sending a tweet or If you are calling your representative’s office
leaving a Facebook comment, but don’t and can’t get through because it’s busy and
stop there. Remember, Congress has a lot their voicemail box is full, it’s best to send
of catching up to do. So, take your political an email. Take some time to craft a personal
opinions to Facebook, but also use your phone message and try as much as possible to not
to actually make a call if you can. rely on scripts. If there isn’t an email form
available and it has been a few days of busy
If I’m a regular citizen, can I talk to a signals and full voicemails, send a personal
legislative aide? letter with a stamp.
Yes. If you’d like to talk more in-depth about
a policy issue, just ask. This won’t be the case Where do faxes fit into the mix?
for most callers, but if you have an expertise Offices generally don’t have dedicated fax
or particular way that a legislative issue will machines. Our offices had multifunction copy
impact you, make contact with the people in machines that we used to send faxes—yes, I
charge. In most cases, they’ll appreciate your sent lots of faxes in the 21st century. However,
opinion and want to know more about your we didn’t print out our faxes. Instead, we
story. There isn’t much more to it than just had sent to an email inbox that we checked
asking to speak to them and giving them short and put with our other letters. We rarely got
but fact-filled emails or phone calls. faxes that had any kind of personal message
attached to them. Usually people who sent
Should I call every day? I don’t have time for that. faxes had the fax numbers for every member
Only call or email once per issue. It saves you of Congress and sent the same message to
from burning out and it gives the office time every one of them. In these cases, we deleted
to talk to other people. Don’t feel like you them. I’d recommend sticking to phone calls,
have to constantly jam the phones. emails, and personal letters.

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 14

 conclusion
If you get one lesson from this guide, it should be this: know who your
representative is, what they do, and how to contact them.

One of the best things about social media is also the worst things: bad
and good information spreads quickly. Before you make your phone calls,
do some research to determine if you’re calling the right person about the
right issue. In most cases, if you call the wrong office they will still talk
to you, but your message will go unheard. To make a difference it takes a
lot of people communicating to their representatives about how the laws
they are writing affect you. So, use those stories to your advantage and
make the calls and write the letters when it can make the most impact.

Please take the time to be more engaged with your representative. It’s
uncomfortable to call someone when you disagree with them, but I think
you’ll find that most staffers are willing to talk and to listen. Use the
phone, email, and letters to get responses on a wide variety of topics and
encourage your friends to do so as well.

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 15

 CALLTHEHALLS
C H EC K L IST
RESEARCH
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Find your representative here: http://house.gov/representatives/find/

My representative is: ________________________________________________________________________

q Bookmark their website for easy access later.

q Save the phone numbers for both their D.C. office and state office closest to you in your phone.
q Sign up for their email lists if they have a form on their websites.
q Follow their social media accounts.

SENATE
Find your senator here: http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/

My senators are: ___________________________________ ; _____________________________________

q Bookmark their websites for easy access later.

q Save the phone numbers for both their D.C. offices and state offices closest to you in your phone.
q Sign up for their email lists if they have a form on their websites.
q Follow their social media accounts.

FINDING YOUR NICHE

These are the issues most important to me:_____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

ASK YOURSELF
How much time per week do I have to devote to volunteer and advocacy work?
Which advocacy groups are in my area?
These are the advocacy groups and nonprofits I want to work with:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 16

MAKING YOUR PERSONAL SCRIPT

My name is _____________________, and I am from __________________, ______________ (city, state).

List the reason you are calling and then condense it to one or two sentences:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

How does this legislation or issue affect you personally?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

What is the call to action for your representative? Do you want a statement, cosponsorship of a bill, a
vote, or something else?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 17

about the author
My name is Emily Ellsworth. I worked for I worked for a Republican office, but I
Congress from 2009 to 2012 under two recognized that many of the people visiting my
representatives from Utah—Congressman office and calling me did not and would not
Jason Chaffetz (UT-03) and Congressman Chris vote for my boss. However, I always tried to
Stewart (UT-02). listen and have a conversation with everyone
who came to me with questions and concerns.
I worked in the state offices in Provo and Salt After six years of taking calls, holding meetings,
Lake City. When I worked for Congressman and writing letters, I learned a few things about
Chaffetz, I was his district office manager. My the most effective way to get the ear of an
primary roles were training interns, answering elected official.
phones, writing letters, and meeting with
community leaders and constituents in the Regardless of your party affiliation, the tips and
district. information contained in this guide are useful
for beginning to engage in a conversation with
In 2012, Congressman Stewart hired me as his your representative. I hope you’ll use them and
constituent services manager. I did many of the start to become more involved with government
same jobs, but my main focus was casework. on a local level.
Casework in a congressional office means that
when constituents had specific problems with a Since leaving Congress, I’ve worked in
federal agency such as immigration, Veterans’ marketing and public relations. I’m currently
Affairs, Social Security, or any other federal a freelance writer, editor, and social media
department, I acted as a liaison between the marketer. I am still involved in local politics and
constituent and the federal government. hope to continue doing so for as long as I’m
living in Utah.
I worked on hundreds of cases during my time
as a staffer. It is one of the most emotionally You can learn more about my work on my
difficult jobs in a congressional office, but it website: www.emilyellsworth.com.
provided a unique opportunity for me to learn
about some of the most significant problems
our constituents were facing.

CALLTHEHALLS | Emily Ellsworth 18