Advocate's Toolbox

Writing Your Legislator a Letter or an Email

When a phone call or more direct contact is not possible, a letter or email to your legislator can be very effective. It is worth your time to write an individual letter. Form letters are often discounted.

Address your letter to:

The Honorable John Doe
Home address
or
The Honorable John Doe
c/o State House, Concord NH 03301

The salutation is:

For Senators: Dear Senator Doe
For Representatives: Dear Representative Doe

• Type or write legibly. Be sure to include your contact information.
• State your purpose within the first paragraph. Identify the bill by number if possible and by its place in the legislative process. Stick to one piece of legislation per communication.
• Elaborate in the text of the letter; be brief and polite. Make your points clear and concise. Do not demand support; ask for it.
• Legislators are quite busy and a letter longer than two pages is too time consuming. Stick to the facts. State how the bill will impact you personally, someone you care about, great numbers of people, or the state/county budget. If you have data, use it.
• Time your letter to reach your legislator when he or she can respond, when the bill is in committee or scheduled for floor debate.
• Write thank you notes to your local legislators, committee chairs, legislative leaders and others for their support for your position.
• A letter is often a good substitute if you cannot appear in person before a committee to testify. In that case, your comments should be addressed to:

The Honorable John Doe
Chairman, House Committee on _______
State House
Concord, NH 03301