How to Contact your Legislators and Members of Congress
Members of the Virginia General Assembly rarely hear from their constituents on most issues. Sometimes hearing from a handful of concerned citizens will cause a senator or representative to pay attention to a particular issue and encourage him or her to vote the right way.
In general, the more personal your lobbying contact is, the more effective it will be. While a personal discussion with a member of the Virginia legislature is most effective, a meeting or telephone conversation with one of his or her assistants is almost as good. A personal letter or email is much more effective than a form letter or postcard.
You do not need to be an expert on the issue to call or write your state senator's or delegate's office. All you need to communicate is that you want the legislator to support or oppose a particular measure. When you call a representative's office, give your name and address and ask whoever takes your call to let the member of the Virginia legislature know that you favor or oppose something.
It is very important that you lobby members of the General Assembly who may support your views AND those who may not. Lobbying can change votes, so it is critically important that you lobby those who disagree with you. Lobbying supporters provides them with evidence of support for their position and allows them to be more active in support of that position.
How to contact the Virginia General Assembly
Contact information for the members of the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate, including email addresses and fax numbers, can be found by accessing the official web site of the Virginia General Assembly. Click here for a telephone list of Delegates. Click here for a telephone list of Senators. Not sure who to contact? Try Who's My Legislator?
How to contact the United States Congress
Contact information for the members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, including email addresses and fax numbers, can be found by accessing House.gov and Senate.gov, respectively.