How to Lobby Your Legislator

Compiled by the Alliance for School Choice

Contact them

Legislators are often like the Maytag repairman.

  • If they get a dozen calls or letters on an issue it's like a revolt. You have more clout than you know.
  • There are some exceptions like the property tax freeze and same sex marriage, but on most issues legislators get almost no contacts from real people.

The more personal the contact the better.

  • Legislators get pretty good at ignoring pre-printed postcards and form letters.
  • Individual letters, personal calls or visits carry much more weight.

The Legislative Hotline is not 911

  1. Don't call only when you're in trouble
  2. Establish a personal relationship
    • Invite your legislator on a tour
    • Show up at office hours
    • Show up at the legislator's events
    • Volunteer to work with your legislator

The facts beat money or drinks

  1. Establish credibility through your existing relationship
  2. Present your case in a well-summarized factual way
  3. Never lie. Credibility is hard to gain but very easy to lose.
  4. Anticipate problems and responses. Show that you understand the choice your lawmaker faces.
  5. Look for ways to develop solutions not to identify problems. (Be a problem solver not another problem.)

Don't threaten. Be polite.

  1. "I will never vote for you again." or "I will organize a campaign against you." are not things that will make lawmakers eager to work with you in the future.
  2. If you burn bridges, don't expect to use them in the future. - Despite today's disagreement you will want or need to work together on another issue tomorrow.

Help legislators to succeed and to look good

  1. Make it in your legislator's self-interest to work with you.
  2. Use things like ribbon cuttings, check presentations, newsletters, organization meetings, etc as a way to give recognition to lawmakers working with you.

You must be present to win

  1. Labor and Environmental groups often beat business groups at the state capitol because business folks view politics as a dirty business to be avoided, labor and environmentalists see it as a way to achieve their goals.
  2. You are able to see impacts of legislation that legislators might miss. If you are involved and engaged you can head off bad changes before they happen.
  3. The most effective presence you can have at the Capitol is to have one of your folks elected to office. There is no substitute for being the "person in the room' when decisions are being made.

Say thank you

  1. The two rarest words in politics are "thank you."
  2. Legislators are human. If they hear "thank you" from you when they do something right they are more likely to listen to the criticism from you when they do something wrong.