How a call goes
Read it word for word. Nobody is grading you. Most calls go to voicemail — that still counts.
- Hi, my name is [your name] and I live in [your street or district].
- I'm calling about [bill number, or "the kratom bill in committee"].
- I want them to vote [yes / no].
- Thank you. That's all I needed.
If a person answers, say the same four lines. If it's voicemail, say the same four lines.
Say the same thing you'd say to a person. It gets logged either way.
"I'll follow up on that" is a complete answer. You're a neighbor, not a witness.
This stays on your device. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Civic Duty (opens in a new tab) — run by a Haven Access volunteer, not part of this site — will help you write to your reps about a specific issue while we finish our own template below.
- Subject: Constituent, [your town] — [bill number]
- My name is [your name] and I live in [your town]. I'm writing about [bill number].
- I use kratom. [One sentence about what it does for you. Yours, not ours.]
- [What you want: "Please vote no," or "Please strike the cap in section X," or "Please support the age limit but oppose the cap." If the bill narrows what counts as a kratom product, say so: "Please strike the definition in section X — it removes the extracts I rely on."]
- Thank you for your time. I'd appreciate knowing how you plan to vote.
Five lines. Not five paragraphs. A staffer sorts these by position and volume, and a short clear one is easier to sort than a long one.
Not for us — for them. Offices sort constituent mail from everything else, and mail without a district goes on the smaller pile.
Identical copied emails get counted once as a campaign. Four clumsy sentences in your own words get counted as a person.
Committee hearings have a public comment slot. Two or three minutes, and it is yours by right — you do not need permission or an invitation.
Speaking is the highest rung on the ladder and the one fewest people climb, which is exactly why it works. A committee that hears from four constituents on a bill has heard from more people than most bills ever generate.
Most committees accept written comment from anyone who cannot attend, and it goes into the same record. If travelling to a capitol is not realistic, this is not a lesser option.