First, a word of caution about contacting your legislators via e-mail:
While sending an email message to a legislator may be more convenient for you than mailing a hand-written letter, contacting legislators electronically may not be as effective a tool in making your voice heard.  E-mail communications draw mixed reactions from public officials.  Many legislators resent broadcast e-mails that clog their mailboxes.  Others may not check their incoming messages themselves.  This means that your e-mail message may be one of hundreds that a busy staff member in your legislator's office must read, process, and forward on to the legislator.  Therefore, before sending a letter electronically, call and ask your elected officials whether they use their e-mail and whether a letter sent via e-mail would be effective and appreciated.

There are, of course, times when electronic correspondence is recommended.  E-mail your letter when:

• Time is clearly an issue (i.e., if a letter sent by U.S. mail will not reach your legislator in time for an important hearing or vote).
• Your legislator has requested information from you and will be expecting to receive it quickly.

Remember: as is the case with mass mailings and form letters, e-mail is not effective if it is a blanket mailing sent out to all members of the legislature.  Make your message personal and specific: send it only to individual legislators!

Questions? Comments? Contact Josh Winters at josh@mncn.org