Getting Your Officials On the Record

Read this Guide in Spanish here: Lee esta Guía en Español aquí

Why is it important to officials on the record supporting your campaign?

• Often in our campaigns we are trying to convince decision makers to enact a new policy or law. You can get an official on the record as you count votes to know where your decision makers stand.
• If you get a decision maker on the record, you show important milestones of victories in your campaign. You can use their support to convince other decision makers to also support your cause.
• You can also get other officials on the record to support you campaign, which will put public pressure on those who are the decision makers to support your cause as well.

Officials you can get on the record  -

Your community has ‘officials’ or other incfluential leaders that can help urge the decision makers on your issue to agree to the ask of your campaign. Here are some ideas of people you can encourage to come out publiclly in support of your campaign.

• Community leaders such as clergy members , Parent Teacher Association presidents, or other community group leaders
• Government officials such as a  city manager, registrar of voters, commissioner of jails
• Elected officials such as school board members, city council, state legislators, mayors
•  or any other type of official or leader you are targeting!

What does being on the record mean?

Being on the record means they’ve released a public statement of support for your campaign. This could be a: 

• press release
• public letter
• letter to the editor
• quote in the newspaper
•  radio interview
• testimony at a rally

Examples of getting officials on the record to support your campaign:

With the Let People Vote campaign, your state by state plan varies. For this example we are going to use Indiana’s voting rights campaign -- getting the state legislature to create an independent redistricting commission.

• Ultimately, the goal is to convince enough state legislators to support the independent redistricting commission. Each People Power group can start by lobbying their own state legislators to co-sponsor the bill,  give public support of this bill, and ultimately vote for the bill. You can have campaign victories for each step of this campaign by getting your state legislator to get on the record with their support.
• County clerks, other county officials, and city councils can also be a huge influence in this political debate about voting rights. Getting these officials on the record in support to the independent redistricting commission can urge your state legislators co-sponsor and vote for legislation for creating this commission.

With the Freedom Cities campaign, each People Power group is urging their local elected officials to adopt the nine model policies.

• In this issue, city councillors will take the recommendation of law enforcement officials seriously. Get your local police chief or county sheriff on the record to support Freedom Cities legislation and share that widely and with your city councilors (or other municipality elected officials who would make the decision to adopt these policies).
• If you get a few city councilers to support your cause - have them put out a press release stating their support. When you reach out to city councillors who are still making up their mind, share those statements of support.

How do you get officials on the record?

Ask your official if they support your campaign, and once they do, ask if they would put a public statement of support. We recommend calling the office of your official to ask for an in person meeting to make your ask in person.

Asking your elected official is easier said than done. This person may have been already supportive of your issue and campaign, and once you explain your campaign and make the ask, they will affirm their support and easily agree to put out a public statement. However, it is likely that you will have to use some other tactics to create public pressure on your officials to support your campaign and ‘get on the record.’ Check out our tactics guide to learn more about how!

After you’ve gotten an official to be on the record, report back to us! This is an exciting and important milestone in your campaign. Report back to People Power and the ACLU 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.