THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
OF
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FYI
- The Internet is generally having a positive effect on the discourse between citizens and Congress.
- Congressional offices are devoting more resources to managing the growing volume of constituent communications.
- Personalized or individualized messages to Congress have more influence on the decision-making process of Members of Congress than do identical form messages.
- Many congressional staff doubt the legitimacy of identical form communications, and want to know whether communications are sent with constituents' knowledge and consent.
- Congressional staff are seeking particular information to help them better understand, process, and respond to constituent communications.
The report also includes four "implications for citizens and grassroots organizations":
- Quality is more persuasive than quantity. "Thoughtful, personalized constituent messages generally have more influence than a large number of identical form messages."
- The organization behind a grassroots campaign matters.
- Grassroots organizations should develop a better understanding of Congress.
- There is a difference between being noticed and having an impact.
Even though the report focuses on communicating with congress, I believe that its import is the same for lobbying our state delegates and senator: a personal phone call or letter is likely to be more effective than form-letter e-mails. We should all try to make our communications personal and specific, even when we've been given a form letter to work from.