HOW DO YOU WRITE LETTERS TO PUBLIC OFFICIALS?
So how do you write letters to public officials, anyhow? We have a number of guidelines that should help you not only write the letter but increase the chances that it will be actually read and taken seriously.
DECIDE ON THE RECIPIENT.
Get the name, title, and address of the official who will make the decision about your issue. Watch to make sure that all names are spelled correctly and that you have the proper address. An incorrect name counts against you. An incorrect address may mean your letter might not arrive at all.
If you’re concerned with politics or issues at all, you should make it your business to know the names and contact information (address, office phone, and e-mail) of all those who represent you, from the most local to the federal government. In the U.S., at least, you can get to know your representatives at any level of government if you make the effort. If you’re an activist, you may meet with them, or at least speak to them or their aides regularly. If that’s the case, letters from you will be taken seriously.
OPEN THE LETTER IN AN OFFICIAL MANNER.
If you are writing to an elected official, show respect for the position by using the title of the office, and the official’s full name. In any other letter, use the familiar term “Dear,” the title Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss, or Dr., and the elected official’s full name.
Example:
January 5, 2008
Title [Name of Representative or Senator]
House of Representatives [OR] U.S. Senate
Office Address
Washington, D.C. 20515
EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE FOR YOUR LETTER.
Let your reader know immediately what your letter is about. Tell him/her why you are concerned or pleased that a particular decision is being considered.
Example:
The proposed increase in the gasoline tax will make the cost of transportation unreasonably high for commuters in the metropolitan area.
DESCRIBE WHAT ANY CHANGES WILL MEAN TO YOU, AND TO OTHERS.
Describe specifically the positive or negative effects the decision will have on you personally and on those you represent. The more people affected by the decision, the more convincing you may be.
Example:
This program will help provide career opportunities for teenagers in our community.
IDENTIFY OTHERS WHO MAY BE AFFECTED BY THIS DECISION.
Tell the official which, and how many, people will be affected. Statistics can be very helpful here.
Example:
A recent study showed that 80% of minors who smoke obtain cigarettes at stores that do not ask for any identification. Increased enforcement of the existing laws prohibiting tobacco sales to minors could significantly reduce the rate of smoking among our youth.
ACKNOWLEDGE PAST SUPPORT.
Mention appropriate actions and decisions the official has made in the past and express thanks for them.
Example:
We appreciate your past support of the bill protecting the rights of emergency medical crews to not be tested for HIV.
DESCRIBE WHAT ACTION YOU HOPE THE OFFICIAL WILL TAKE.
State specifically what action you (and those you represent) hope the official will take–and by what date if there is a deadline.
Example:
We hope you realize the best course of action to protect our community’s infants and young children is to vote “yes” to House Bill #689b.
IF YOU HAVE WRITTEN A LETTER THAT OPPOSES SOME ACTION, OFFER AN ALTERNATIVE.
Example:
I believe that rather than increasing the number of police cars patrolling our neighborhood, a cheaper and more effective alternative would be to work with our community to develop a community-policing program.
IF YOU HAVE TIME AND YOU ARE COMMITTED, ASK HOW YOU CAN HELP
Example:
Our group is more than willing to explore the various options in helping make our community a safer place to live.
CLOSE AND SIGN YOUR LETTER.
Thank the official and sign your full name. Make sure your address and phone number are included.
CHECK YOUR LETTER FOR SPELLING AND GRAMMATICAL ERRORS.
Correct spelling and grammar won’t do the job by themselves, but they can help. Why not give your letter every possible advantage?
LETTER-WRITING CAMPAIGNS
So far, we’ve discussed individual letters. A letter-writing tactic that can be particularly effective is a letter-writing campaign, where dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people write either to the same official (if they’re all in, or somehow represent people who are in, her district) or to many officials about a specific vote, policy, or budget item. This can be extremely effective, especially when the letter-writers are people who don’t usually contact their elected officials.
In Massachusetts, when funding for Adult Basic Education (ABE) and English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) was being debated in the state legislature, over a thousand ABE and ESOL students wrote letters to their representatives explaining why funding was important to them personally. At the same time, program staff and administrators, volunteers, and advocates wrote letters to their own representatives explaining why ABE and ESOL were important to their communities and to the state.
The letters from students were particularly powerful, many of them explaining that a year or two earlier, they couldn’t have written those letters. It was the opportunity to enter an ABE or ESOL program that made the difference. Legislators responded, and funding for adult education was significantly increased.
If you want to engage in a letter-writing campaign, you must prepare properly. Many people, especially people who see themselves as powerless and unimportant, and who may have little education, are intimidated by the thought of writing to someone in power. In many countries, writing such a letter can carry a certain amount of economic, social, or physical risk. (After a State House rally in the same year as the letter-writing campaign described above, one ESOL student was overheard to remark, “In my country, they shoot you for this.”) Even in democracies governed by the rule of law, people may be fearful of being punished for speaking out.
In addition to reluctance based on feelings of fear and intimidation, many people affected by an issue – especially those with low levels of education – can be embarrassed by their poor writing skills or feel that they don’t have anything convincing to say. They need help putting their letters together, and they need a model to go by. The coordinators of the letter-writing campaign should be aware of what they must do to meet these needs.
First, the campaign should contact potential letter writers with a request for letters, and a simple but complete explanation of why the campaign is needed, and what the important issues relating to it are. People can’t write letters that make sense unless they understand clearly why they’re writing. The chances are that, while advocates can – and perhaps do – go over the politics of the issue in their sleep, most people affected by it know very little about how it plays out politically, or even about how the political system handles issues. The better they understand what’s happening and the specific job their letters are expected to do, the more persuasive the letters they can write.
Along with this, the campaign should provide one or more templates for letters. A template is a pattern for the letters, illustrating the form of the letter on the page, with the sender’s and recipient’s addresses and date in the appropriate places at the top, and a formal signature at the bottom, as well as a sample of the content of the letter.
A template literally means a cut-out pattern that is used to make several identical pieces of wood, metal, or some other material that are part of something larger. A builder might use a paper or wooden template to cut a number of identical rafters to hold up a roof, for example.
In general, people affected by the issue should include:
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A description of who they are – single working mother, person with a disability, job training participant, ex-Marine.
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The fact that they’re residents of the elected official’s district, or participants in a program in this district.
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What they want the official to do.
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Their connection to the issue – program participant, staff person, community volunteer, parent of a child with disabilities.
Anywhere from one sentence up to a paragraph or two explaining what the issue means to them and/or how it has affected them personally. For program participants and others affected by the issue, this is by far the most important part of the letter. Officials are more often swayed by personal stories than by impersonal statistics, no matter how telling those statistics may be. If people can explain how a program changed their lives for the better, or how the lack of services has been a barrier for them, it’s likely that officials will pay attention.
Finally, campaign coordinators should make sure that those for whom letter-writing is difficult have access to help. In the Massachusetts adult education campaign, that was easy: letters were often written as part of a class, and students approached them as writing assignments, completing two or three drafts before the letter was ready to be sent. In other situations, you’ll have to make sure that program staff and others are available to encourage and empower people, and to help them write the best letters they can.
SHOULD YOU USE E-MAIL?
With the speed and ease of delivery, it’s common to use e-mail and send your correspondence via the computer. Doing so, particularly for formal letters, has several advantages:
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It is much faster than normal mail. This also makes it possible for the official to respond much more quickly.
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It saves the trouble of addressing an envelope, buying a stamp, and mailing your letter.
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Electronic mail is less likely to get lost on the receiver’s desk.
However, note that the last can also be a disadvantage. Unless the recipient goes through the trouble to print your message, it may be gone with one tap of the delete key – and out of mind as well. If you are going to use e-mail for your correspondence, be particularly clear and emphatic about your message from the beginning.
IN SUMMARY
Writing letters to elected officials is a good way to explain how an issue affects you or your group. It also can build your reputation as a thoughtful person, giving you more influence with the people in power. A letter is also a good way to get your issue noticed by people who have the power to help you.