Wow!
Can you believe they are going into ANOTHER special session? I’ll talk more about why later in this email. It’s been a long year for all of us advocates in Oklahoma, but we still need to make our voices heard in this special session.
The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to go to the Capitol in person, though I hope many can and will. If you can’t go in person, you can write a letter! Think of it as just one more holiday card that has tangible potential to improve our state.
Here is is the how and why of it:
Hand written letters can be particularly effective in influencing legislators’ views. Why? Who tends to hand write things? You guessed it! Older people write AND older Oklahomans vote. Write to give the legislators one more good reason to take you seriously!
Writing to legislators also offers an opportunity to maintain contact and keep your issues on the front burner even when you cannot meet personally. Find your two state legislators here! (See also Talking to Legislators Face to Face)
Writing an Effective Letter
- KEEP IT BRIEF
- IDENTIFY YOURSELF
- BE POLITE
- GET TO THE POINT
- RELATE IT TO HOME
- REMIND THEM OF YOUR SPECIFIC REQUEST
- ALLOW FOR FOLLOW-UP
- THANK THEM FOR THEIR TIME AND FOR SOMETHING MORE SPECIFIC IF YOU CAN.
- Address your letter correctly
There you have it! If you want more details on each of these points check, a sample letter, and/or details on how to address these letters, you can find all that on my blog post Writing to Your Legislators . Otherwise, get to writing those letters!
Remember, nobody wants to go back for a second special session, but it’s still necessary. See if you can make this extra-special special session, and the year to come, a little better for you, me, and our fellow Oklahomans. Take this little letter action right now.
Happy holidays!
-KJ
PS: (You can even print this out and send it inside your holiday cards to non-legislators asking your friends to write to their legislators too. The more the merrier! For real.)
