Dropping Off Letters or Petitions
Read this Guide in Spanish here: Lee esta Guía en Español aquí
Why are letter or petition drop off events effective?
- They amplify the work you’ve done collecting petition signatures or letters. Translate the support you’re collected on paper to a public event by dropping off the petitions directly to your elected official. This is a great way to highlight how many people in your community support your cause.
- They get press to cover your campaign and your petition or letter writing success, because an event where you’re showing the progress visually, not just telling, is easier for reporters to cover.
- They put more pressure on elected officials by publicly making your ask and asking for a response.
Before the Event
Collect your petitions or letters. See the guide on collecting petition signatures here and on letter writing campaigns here. Make sure to get a final count before you drop them off.
Plan your date, time and, location. You can give your elected officials office a heads up, but you also don’t need to. Remember: more people make more of an impression for the delivery, too. Pick a time when you know there are other activists on your team who could join you.
Recruit more activists to join you - post your delivery event to map.peoplepower.org and recruit from your own network.
Invite press. If you’ve collected an impressive number of signatures (What counts as impressive? It depends on your local context!)) consider using this as an opportunity to have an earned media event, and call local press to ask them to attend your dropoff. Remember that 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.
Prepare your petitions or letters. If you are delivering petition signatures, get a final count of the number of signatures you have and organize your hard copy sheets into boxes. If you are delivering letters, you can put them in boxes or some other creative way to present them. Sometimes people turn these into banners or other striking visuals.
Prepare with your team. Set roles of who will take pictures, be the spokesperson, or able to speak with press. Prepare talking points for any post-delivery interviews with local media.
During your event
Take lots of pictures of your event to share later.
Arrive early. 15 minutes before the scheduled event time, meet any local media outside with copies of your press advisory.
Walk inside to deliver the petitions. Whether you have a meeting or not, ask to speak with your target. If you can speak with them, deliver a short message about the campaign and make your next ask (another meeting, introduce the legislation, etc.). If you are unable to speak with your target, deliver your message to the secretary/staffer that takes the petitions and ask for the message to be passed on.
After the Event
Share photos and videos from your event on social media to put more public pressure on your elected officials, and continue to amplify all of your hard work. Don’t forget to tag their official profiles or pages. Use #PeoplePower to further your reach.
Follow up with elected officials. If you don’t get a response to your petition when you deliver it, you should follow up with an additional call or meeting to address the petitions.
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 us -- let us know how you did. How many signatures did you collect? How many people drop off the petitions with you? Did the elected official give you a response as to how they were going to vote? 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.