Our Legislators Need to Hear from You, Now More Than Ever
Tuesday was Election Day, and it got us thinking.
Thinking about the impact everyday citizens can have on our democratic process. Thinking about what voters’ collective action can accomplish. And thinking about our elected officials’ accountability to the people who elect them.
But Election Day is just that – one day. And while voting will always be the single most important thing we Pennsylvanians can do to impact our system of government, there are 364 other days in the year where you can make your voice heard. Which is critical, since our elected officials need to hear from you now more than ever.
Moving legislators to action can take many forms. Take our recent back-to-back-to-back Capitol Days in Harrisburg, which resulted in three big wins for our clients at Ballot PA, the Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners, and the Mid-Atlantic Mothers’ Milk Bank.
Those three days featured a rally for open primaries with students from across PA; a news conference highlighting the critical impact nurse practitioners have on our healthcare system; and a Committee vote/legislative visits to drive home the importance of donor milk as lifesaving medicine. Bringing citizen voices directly to legislators still makes an enormous difference.
Students rally at the Capitol. Photo: Jamie Emig
But with only six session days remaining for the PA House & Senate in 2023 (Nov. 13, 14, 15 and Dec. 11, 12, 13), advocates have to be strategic to keep their issues at the top of legislators’ priority lists.
That’s why we’re launching a phone campaign in November to call constituents in key districts, urging them to write a handwritten letter to their state Representative on behalf of legislation to repeal closed primaries.
It’s why we’re helping organize a summit with PA Needs Teachers to brainstorm future policy solutions to our teacher shortage crisis.
And it’s why we’ll be engaging nurse practitioners and patients from across the Commonwealth to share their stories for a new social media campaign highlighting how NPs expand access to quality health care.
So which method is best? The answer is all of them – a good civic campaign takes traditional forms of advocacy (Capitol Days, letter writing campaigns) and combines them with newer methods like social media pushes and Digital Advocacy Days to ensure that constituents always have a direct line of communication to their elected officials.
Want to learn more about how Denny Civic Solutions can help drive elected officials to take action on your cause? Schedule a 15-minute call with us to see if we might be a good fit!