How to Lobby: Be Direct
In this series, we provide some tips on how you as a voter can successfully lobby your elected officials.
Arkansas legislators are regular people. Yes, they are elected to be public servants and your representatives, but they’re just like anyone else: They have jobs; they get bored by long, one-sided conversations; and they may not read every word of a really long letter or email. So when you communicate with your elected officials—whether in person, over the phone, or in writing—be direct. Get to the point. Introduce yourself, and then explain what your concern is, why you’re concerned, and what you want them to do (for example “Please vote against HB1234”). With a lot of issues, you might be able to do all of that in just 3 or 4 sentences. In fact, a lot of email messages can be distilled down to one sentence: “Please vote against _____________”. The clearer you are, the more likely it is your elected officials will understand your position and side with you.