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AdVanced Consulting's Election Resources Guide

THE ELECTION'S OVER, NOW WHAT?

Following are some steps that effective advocates will take to start working with our new elected officials.

  • Identify the Winners
  • Learn about their Interests
  • Contact their Offices in the 108th Congress
  • Set up a Strategy

IDENTIFY THE WINNERS!

A number of great sites are offering the resources you need to identify winners in Congressional races around the country and in your state. Check them out!

PurePolitics.com

OnPolitics.com

ElectionGuide2002

CSPAN

I know there are more out there -- tell me your favorites!

LEARN ABOUT THEIR INTERESTS

Every elected official cares about something: Whether it's kids, trade, civil rights, or constituent service, it's up to the effective adovcate to identify those passions. You can do so for incumbent members by taking a look at their website through www.house.gov or www.senate.gov

For new members, take a look at their campaign sites (if they have one), which you can access through www.vote-smart.org. Or, try running a "Google" search on their name at www.google.com. This should provide you with whatever information is available on that individual. In addition, publications like the Washington Post and Roll Call will have soon publish special overviews of each of the new members.

CONTACT THEIR OFFICES IN THE 108TH CONGRESS

Once you understand something about your elected officials, go ahead and contact them in the 108th Congress (starting in January 2003). Office addresses and phone numbers should be available early next year through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Congress.org will also have this information in a timely fashion.

Once you've tracked them down, let your elected officials know what issues you're interested in and how specifically you would like to work with their office (by setting up site visits to highlight your program, meetings in the district, working with staff, etc.) For more details on effective communication with your elected officials, check out the following resources:

Effective Advocacy Tutorial

How to Set up an Effective Meeting or Site Visit

Checklist for Effective Communication

SET UP A STRATEGY

Think through your advocacy goals and interests for the coming year, and think now about your strategy. Some questions to ask yourself include:

  • What do you want? An earmark? Support for a policy change?
  • Who are you going to work with? While your own elected official is definitely someone to reach out to, think about other coalitions you might build and other members of Congress you might want to bring into the mix
  • How are you going to talk to them? What kind of message are you going to develop? What will resonate? How are you going to use the media? What natural opportunities are available for outreach?
  • How are you going to follow-up? What provisions do you have for ongoing grassroots support? Thank you notes? Awards dinners?

One great idea is to set up a calendar over the year reflecting various key dates, such as the President's budget submission, potential district work periods, key holidays, etc., and identify your opportunities to move your agenda forward. Click here to download a very basic 2003 calendar, and let me know if you'd like a sample of how to use it!

BASIC BACKGROUND AND GENERAL NEWS

If you aren’t sure which House district you reside in, go to www.congress.org, which allows you to search by zipcode.  If you aren’t sure which state you live in (for the U.S. Senate and governor’s races), well you have bigger problems than just figuring out how to vote!

If you’re looking for general news and information, check out www.politicsonline.com and www.purepolitics.com.  All of these sites have their own useful content as well extensive links to the news organizations.  For online election day coverage, www.cspan.org and www.washingtonpost.com/onpolitics are good bets.  Another good resource is Roll Call at www.rollcall.com