To Communicate With Legislators by Letter or Email
Use Principles of Advocacy as appropriate.
- Address the letter to:
The Honorable Senator (or Representative) .
Arizona State Senate (or House of Representatives)
1700 W. Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85007
- Use the Correct salutation:
- Dear Senator (or Representative) ,
- Include your return address.
- Keep Letters brief and to the point.
- State the bill number early in the letter.
- Personalize the letter to the extent possible. Note your relationship to the legislator, if appropriate, particularly if you are a constituent.
- State your position.
- Explain the reasons for that position: your concern, how it will impact you, how it will impact the university and how that impacts you, if possible.
- Ask them to support your position.
- Ask them to contact you regarding this bill, stating their position, and how they intent to vote; provide a phone number or e-mail address if possible.
- Thank them for their attention.
- After a legislator has voted in support of your position, always write a letter of thanks. This means a lot to them.
Sample Correspondence
CRITICAL ISSUES LETTER
Date
The Honorable Senator (or Representative) Name
Arizona State Senate (or House of Representatives)
1700 W. Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Dear Senator (or Representative) name,
As one of your constituents, I want to share my thoughts and opinions about HB number (or SB number) title. I (strongly) support (oppose) the bill as it is currently written and urge you to do the same.
I believe the bill would positively (negatively) impact issue in the following ways:
- (Using information provided by the UA State Relations office, emphasize the points you believe justify your position.)
Due to these impacts, I am asking you to support (oppose) the bill by voting aye (nay) when scheduled for vote.
Please call me at your phone number if you have any questions regarding my opinion. And please let me know how you intend to vote. I realize how hectic your schedule must be right now and want you to know how much I appreciate your attention and response to a constituent.
Sincerely,
Name
