Which mode of communication carries the most weight with Congresspersons?

[raccoon]

Emails?
Phone calls?
Letters?
Other?

[lagomorph777]

1. GOP congresscritters only respond to money. Apparently even threats on their lives don't work.

Dems will pay attention to emails and phone calls. Letters have not been a viable method to communicate with the Government since the anthrax attacks in 2001. After that, they started cooking all mail (I used to get such cooked mail when I worked in DC). I suspect staffers hate dealing with physical mail, too.

[LunaSea]

3. Other...

In the case of my reps, it's 'other'.

[raccoon]

5. I need one of those for Graham! Nt

[Cirque du So-What]

7. Gotta smack 'em between the eyes just to get their attention

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. My guess is, an actual letter, but they probably have to be screened for anthrax. NT

[StarfishSaver]

20. The mail all goes through a screening process off-site before it goes to Congressional offices

[JimGinPA]

6. Money Transfer

[SheltieLover]

8. Kompromat in any form

Newsflash repukes: try living with integrity!

[JT45242]

9. Large campaign contribution dollars

MONEY... pure and simple. They care about nothing else (most of them at least).

[ironman99]

10. Money

Gimme a million and I will talk to you, just a constituent, sorry no time

[Lochloosa]

11. Phone calls and letters to the local office

[Silent3]

12. For some, find a way to send a message so that it will be perceived...

...as arriving through their dental fillings.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

13. $$

The chances of your letter, email, or phone call reaching the actual Congress person is slim. Staffers handle the vast majority of it. Campaign contributions greatly increases that chance, proportionally to the amount of course. Absent that, an in person conversation likely has the most weight. This way it isn't filtered through some staffer.

[StarfishSaver]

21. The mail goes to them

Every piece of it gets to them.

Most have one or more legislative correspondents whose only job is to read and respond to the mail and to communicate the information and questions to their member or senator. Different representatives deal with mail in different ways. Some never or rarely look at it personally but just get regular reports on what people are saying. Some will look at some of it as their time permits.

And I've worked with more than one Member who insisted on reading every single piece of correspondence that came to the office and read and personally signed every single response that went out. That was pretty frustrating as it really slowed down the correspondence process since there was only so much mail a congresspersons could read, review and sign in a given day.

[Bobstandard]

14. Via letter to the editor

Staff read all the letters, emails, texts and phone messages, but they tell the Congress person about hostile letters the editor in district newspapers.

[Wawannabe]

15. It's not violence

They obviously don’t care if they are violently attacked.

[FSogol]

16. $500 donation is the most effective.

Apparently it isn't "Capitol Riot."

[MineralMan]

17. That depends on which congressperson, among other things.

If that person is from your state or district, is from your party, and if you helped that person get elected, and if that congressperson knows your name, then your communication will probably be seen and considered.

If all four of those things are not true, than your communication will simply be tallied by a staffer as for or against whatever you're communicating about.

That is the reality.

However, being tallied is still important, so you should communicate, in any of those ways, or in person, if that is possible.

[StarfishSaver]

22. It does vary by Member

Some read more of their mail than others. But, as you said, they all have staff reading and responding to everything and keeping the boss apprised of what their constituents are thinking.

I worked for someone who, every time we had an important it tough issue to consider, would ask "what are my people saying?" - meaning his constituents (and not just the ones who had votes for him).

[MineralMan]

23. Yes. Unless you are a constituent, whatever you say will pretty much be ignored.

It's far more effective to communicate with your own legislators. If you don't live in their district, or state in the case of Senators, what you want them to do is pretty much ignored universally by members of both parties.

When a staffer is asked the question you mentioned, they want to see what the constituent count is on both sides of the question. That's the only thing they care about, since those are people who will vote in the next election. In addition, people who make contact are also likely to be influencers, because it takes some effort to communicate in the first place.

However, if your congressmember greets you by name when you encounter him or her in person, then you are likely on a list the staffer has pretty much memorized. Your communication is far more likely to actually get to the member.

[StarfishSaver]

26. Your point about being an influencer is important

They definitely think about that. They know that people who are engaged enough to take the time to write them are probably influencers in their community - or could be.

They see this as a two-way conversation and it definitely is not a waste of time.

[raccoon]

28. Yeah, I think it's worth it to contact them even if just for the tally. Nt

[Kid Berwyn]

18. Wired Cash Deposits

To Switzerland.

[StarfishSaver]

19. They all matter

This is something I have a lot of experience with and I can tell you for certain that most Members - especially the Democrats - pay close attention to communications from their constituents. The key is for it to be REAL communications - letters and emails and phone calls that are obviously personal and individual, not form letters, email blasts and scripted phone calls. The latter do tend to be ignored because it's impossible to tell if those really represent the views and will of their constituents or are part of a lobbying campaign driven by something else.

With some exceptions, Members' and Senators' offices put a great deal of time and effort into setting up and using constituent correspondence systems so they can hear from their constituents and respond to them quickly and thoughtfully.

More than once, someone has complained to me that their reps don't listen to them and when I asked if they had written or called them, they said, "No. Why bother. They won't listen." To which I responded, how can they listen to you if you don't say anything?"

Contact them if you have something to say. It does matter.

[MineralMan]

24. Absolutely. Contact your legislators on every important issue.

Don't bother with legislators from other states or districts, though. But contact your own reps (and Senators) about every important issue. Be persistent. Be brief. Be specific.

The goal is to do so often enough that the staffer who handles communications recognizes your email address or name. If you communicate well, the staffer may tell the member, "I got an another email from Joe Blow today. He is in favor of this bill."

Even more important is meeting your member in person as often as you can. Go to meet and greet events. Show up at your county fair and stop by and say hello when they show up there. Introduce yourself every time, and say something nice about something your member has done. Thank them for a vote of which you approve. Eventually, your member will recognize you on sight. That is the goal. Yes, it's a lot of work, but it's worth doing. Truly, and especially with your district's House member. It works.

[StarfishSaver]

27. "Thank them for a vote of which you approve" YES!

It is just as important to thank a member for voting the way we want as it is to criticize them for voting against something we care about.

[lame54]

25. Strip-o-grams

[SoonerPride]

29. CASH

Preferably in unmarked bills.

[Retrograde]

30. Mine always responds to email

Or at least her staff does. Within a week of contacting her I get a reply from someone who has read it enough to respond to topics I've raised. Even the last one - when I told her to impeach Trump for inciting the January 6 riot - which I said didn't need a reply got one.