Why is writing letters to your elected officials an effective tactic?

Writing letters to an elected official sends a direct message that you want a policy or law changed.
Letters are extremely effective at humanizing the issue and can include pictures, stories, and anecdotes that illustrate the your stance.

Why write letters as a group?

Sometimes, especially when you first launch your campaign or in decisive moments, you’ll want to organize lots of people to write at the same time to produce a noticeable amount of letters.
Other times, letter writing will be a low-key, rinse-and-repeat tactic – a handful of people getting together for an hour or two each week to contact local elected officials and keep the pressure on.
A single personal letter from a well known community member might be extra effective .
More people can generate more letters, but it’s up to you to decide what’s right for your campaign

Planning a letter-writing party

Set a date, time and location. This could be a library, a coffee shop, your living room, or just about anywhere that is accessible to the volunteers you invite.

Recruit for your event. Post your event to map.peoplepower.org, share it with your network, recruit family, friends, and neighbors to join you, and confirm all the details with attendees beforehand.

Prepare your materials. Prepare a list of talking points, news articles, or other resources to help people write effective letters regarding the issue you’re working on. Don’t forget to provide enough pens, paper, and envelopes, or ask people to bring their own.

Writing your letter

Introduce yourself, share that you’re a constituent and be specific about where you’re from. Include anything else that may be relevant -- your profession, your status as a student, grandparent, or any other identities that may be important to you and help the decisionmaker understand your point of view. Share your story of why you are taking time to write about this issue. It may be as simple as saying “I’m taking the time to write to you because I really care about this issue.”

Clearly state what issue you are writing about. If your letter is supporting or opposing a specific piece of legislation, it helps to identify it by its bill number (House Bill H.R.___, Senate Bill S.B____,). If your issue doesn’t have specific legislation being considered or doesn’t yet have a bill number, it’s important to be very clear and explicit about the topic.

Hit your three most important points. Choose the three strongest points for persuading legislators to support your position. You can offer to elaborate on your points if requested, but shorter and clearer will help you make the strongest point possible.

Keep it concise. Your letter should be kept to 1 page.

End with a strong call to action. No matter the case, you want to make sure that all of the letters have a clear call-to-action at the end: support a bill, oppose a bill, introduce a bill, etc.. You want to be clear in what you’re asking from the policy maker.

Sign the letter at the bottom with your name and contact info. This should include your address so your elected official knows that they are representing you!

After writing your letters

Take pictures and post on social media. Take photos of your completed letters, the stacks of envelopes, or someone mailing them in. Post to your own social media to show off the hard work of your group and spread the word further about your campaign. Use #PeoplePower to further your reach.

Consider planning a letter drop off event. Read more about drop off events here.

Plan your next tactic and event. Continue your good work and plan your next action. Be sure to post it to the People Power map!

Report back to ACLU People Power by filling out this form!

Please note: As a People Power activist, you don’t represent the ACLU as an organization. You represent your own causes as a concerned constituent and community stakeholder. This is critical to our strength as a movement: As you work on your Freedom Cities campaign, Let People Vote campaign, and other causes, your voices will be stronger as representatives of your community. If anyone is looking for a comment about a formal ACLU position, you can refer them to info@peoplepower.org and we can contact the appropriate ACLU representative.