In this series, we provide some tips on how you as a voter can successfully lobby your elected officials.

Follow up is key in lobbying. After all, what does a lawmaker care whether he or she cast a good vote or a bad one if there are no consequences? That’s where follow-up comes into play. When your representative casts a good vote, you should be ready to immediately pat them on the back and tell them how glad you are that they did the right thing. And if they cast a bad vote, you should be ready to have a serious conversation with them about why that vote was bad.

Follow up isn’t about punishing your elected officials—it’s never appropriate to somehow threaten a lawmaker—so much as it is about expressing the fact that you’re keeping an eye on the political process and that you’re genuinely concerned about how things turn out at the legislature.