Write your Oregon Legislators

Helpful hints and tips for writing your Legislators:

Be polite and be respectful. Use appropriate and respectful capitalization and punctuation. Using profanity, harsh language, or threats is entirely inappropriate and not acceptable behavior.

Address them by “Senator” or “Representative” and their last name.

Introduce yourself in the first line with your name. Identify yourself as a constituent (if you are) or as a representative of an organization or an affiliation.

Check spelling and grammar.

Be clear and concise. Try to keep your letter as close to 250—300 words as possible, while including enough information about why you are writing to them.

Explain your issue clearly and why it is important that you are contacting them. Give enough information for the legislator to understand your position.

If applicable, include slides, charts or other documents that support your arguments as attachments.

Be specific with your request. Tell the legislator you are asking them to be in favor or oppose the specific bill.

Remember that the bills are not necessarily partisan bills, regardless of your Legislator’s party affiliation. This is an issue that impacts all Oregonians.

It is appropriate and encouraged to request a response. Ask what his/her position on the issue is or how s/he will vote on the bill.

Offer yourself as a resource if they would like any additional information.

Remember any and all correspondence with staff and legislators at a state or government issued email address is part of the public record and is not considered private or confidential correspondence.

Don’t forget to include your contact information.

Conclude the letter politely with “Sincerely,” “Thank you for your time,” or “Thank you for your consideration.”