Sarlacc Summary: Writing to Electeds

Welcome back to this month’s Sarlacc Summary! It’s been a rough month as a Star Wars fan also writing about the franchise and politics given how much Andor we were all fed with a firehose, but now that the dust is settling, and the Sithty Minutes Reviews are starting to come out, I can get back to that balance between Star Wars and Politics. For this month’s summary, I wanted to talk about the importance and ease of contacting your elected official, whether it be at the local, state, or even federal level. It can seem like a small gesture, and even the “too online” crowd love mocking it as low hanging fruit, but it is an essential part of our democracy that even Andor emphasized through the various arcs. Simple messages about lived experience, what we know to be true, and the actual impacts on people disrupts the propaganda of power. Just as Mon Mothma begged for the Senator from Ghorman to speak up on the atrocities faced by their people, so too must we speak on how the current administration is harming us, or how local leaders can represent us and step up with their power.

First and foremost, I wanted to talk about this issue because it is deceptively easy to do. Elected officials have a variety of channels to get feedback from people they represent and you can even contact them through your preferred medium. Whether you prefer a phone call, an email, or even some good old fashioned mail to support the USPS, their offices have address, phone numbers are public record, and their contact emails are found on government websites run by the city council, town, county, state legislature, or US Congress/Federal Office. Some apps, like 5 Calls, even organize that information for you so you can simply focus on the message. Personally, I make a phone contact for each of my elected officials as soon as the election is over if they’re incumbents, or the day after they’re sworn in if they’re new to politics. This way, anytime there is something that motivates me to call it is literally as simple as searching my contacts or even telling my phone to “dial Senator Bennett.” For those who prefer emails, not only can you still make a contact that includes emails in 2025, but emails can also be saved as drafts or scheduled for later times so that you can refine your message or make sure it hits the inbox of your elected official at the right time during those late night votes. No matter your preferred method, there is a way to contact them and in 2025 there are ways to streamline that process so it is as simple as talking to your friend about last night’s Andor arc.

Although the online types will tell you that writing to elected officials changes nothing or isn’t a “valid” form of protesting, I can tell you as somebody that works in politics that that is simply not true. Will one single letter change a legislator’s mind? Most likely not. However, each office has at least one staff member even at the local level and one of their key functions, among others, is to provide updates to the elected officials they work for of where their constituents are on any single issue. As more people write and call to an office about an issue with guidance on what to do, those staffers will shuffle that issue up more and more to the elected official. These staffers are not advocating, they are simply informing their bosses of where the constituents, and future votes in the re-election, are moving towards. Even at the state level, I have watched perfectly good bills get voted down simply because legislators point out that the district they represent does not like the idea. Similarly, I have seen bad bills that have total party support get voted down with members of their own party joining the opposition because of community engagement. You’ll hear these votes described by national media as “vulnerable Democrats/Republicans” but all that really means is that enough people wrote in or made their voices heard and legislators responded to it. To maximize your communication, make sure you always start by mentioning your zip code so that legislators know that whatever your thoughts are, you actually will play a part in their defeat or re-election.

Of course, as you’re reading this you’re probably already thinking about all the terrible things you want your elected official to oppose, but also remember that you can use these tools of communication to express gratitude. For example, if your legislator voted against the recent federal budget that targets Medicaid and Food Stamps (among other things), thank them! If a state legislator or city council member put forth a good proposal that ultimately failed them, thank them for the effort and share how it would have helped you. Politics is usually a thankless job, so those letters will always find their way to the intended person, and remind them that they can curry favor not just by fighting against something, but also fighting for something. Governing is also the work of multiple administrations, so the more elected officials hear about the importance of an issue that failed, the more likely it is that they will return during the next policy session to make it a reality. Specifically, this is the work of gun control groups and education lobbyists, regardless of what side of the issue they are on, they are always playing the long game. If a bill becomes law, great they move to the next piece of the puzzle. However, if it fails, they pay close attention to why the votes didn’t materialize and immediately begin working on how to refine their bill so that it has a better chance next year. This is why constant communication matters, because it is actually extremely rare for an idea to become law the first time, and when nobody is paying attention is when politicians will listen to whichever voice is the loudest in the room—for better or for worse.

So as the long slog through the current administration continues, remember that you have the power in a Democracy. Let your elected official know when they are acting against your interests, thank them when they take hard votes that align with your worldview, and be consistent in your communication. Even these are tiny droplets in a rainstorm, with enough rain a drizzle can become a deluge.