There are no formal guidelines but as a general rule:

  • Always be polite and respectful.
  • Never threaten a legislator (this hurts our cause and can result in legal action).
  • Never lie to a legislator.
  • If a legislator asks for more information, do your best to provide it.
  • If you don’t know an answer, simply reply that you will do your best to provide the information and ask AGC for assistance.
  • Keep your email brief and to the point. Legislators get hundreds of emails – short emails get read more often.
  • Select the recipient(s) last – it can save an “accidental send.”
  • MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL: THINK BEFORE YOU CLICK “SEND” – IF IN DOUBT, DON’T SEND IT, COPY YOUR MESSAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER AND REVIEW IT LATER. YOU CAN ALWAYS MAKE CHANGES, BUT YOU CANNOT RECALL AN ILL-CONSIDERED EMAIL ONCE IT HAS BEEN SENT.

NO. However, it will send you a copy of your email, including a list of the recipients.

Several reasons:

  • To determine if you are a genuine person and not a mailing program
  • To determine if you live in the legislator’s district

Yes, and it is best to provide it as this will increase your credibility.

There are no formal rules in emails:

  • “Dear Senator,” or “Dear Delegate,” is sufficient in an email salutation.
  • “Respectfully,” is always a safe complimentary close.

Email Subject Box:

Bill Number and Title (or other subject as appropriate)
(You may wish to place “SUPPORT” or “OPPOSE” before the Bill Number)

Email Message Box:

“Dear Senator,” or “Dear Delegate,”

I am writing to express my support (or opposition) to “Senate Bill XXX” or “House Bill XYX”.

Please let me know how you plan to vote on this bill.

Respectfully,

(The system will fill in your name and contact information at the bottom of the email – see the preview function)

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When you click on the Preview icon the following screen will appear:

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We could, but “form” emails do not have the credibility of a personally written email. However, there is nothing wrong with writing the same thing to multiple legislators as the system sends individual emails to each of the legislators.

Yes, we recommend that you do this and run a grammar and spelling check before you cut and paste your message into the email system message box. This will also allow you to save your message in the event you want to use it on another bill.

Yes, a basic spelling checker is now available. Click on the “Abc” icon to the left of your message text.