FAQs

Welcome aboard! You can get involved by filling out our contact form:
https://secure.ngpvan.com/0MJlSgkRxku-p4rwgH2kyw2

Find out what district/precinct you live in. You can find out by searching your address, here:
https://gis.adacounty.id.gov/apps/electionday/

Some say that it’s no use to contact legislators in this super-majority environment we political minorities find ourselves in here in Idaho. That is not true. There have been many times when the many voices who rose to oppose triumphed. When a bill is bad for Idaho citizens, it doesn’t matter what political side of the spectrum you fall in, you need to speak up. When a bill is good for Idaho, speak up.

• Know who your representatives are and contact them with your concerns. (The Idaho legislature website has a quick tool called Who is my legislator? that you can use to easily find your representatives.) However, contacting a legislator that is not representing your district can still make a big difference.
• Get in a polite, but firm mindset. When you are disagreeing with a legislator, they are more likely to listen if you are respectful.
• State who you are, where you live, and what you want in the first two sentences.
• Keep your message brief and specific. During the legislative session, legislators get thousands of emails, calls, and other communications.
• Know the bill number and name. When giving your feedback, mention this first, for example, “I oppose SB 1110….”
• Personalize your message. For example, share (as briefly as possible) your personal experience and why/how this piece of legislation affects your life—positively or negatively. Personal stories can be very persuasive and memorable.
• Suggest a course of action or offer assistance. Nobody likes to hear a laundry list of complaints without a reasonable path on moving forward. For example, ask your legislator to vote for a piece of legislation that would make a positive impact for you and the rest of the state.
• Never threaten a legislator or make promises. Emotions can run high because legislation has such an effect on our lives. Threats and promises have the effect of turning people’s ears off and putting them on the defense, which is not the mindset for progress.
• Contact the governor when you want to support a veto of damaging legislation.

I just have time to call my legislator.
In addition to emailing your legislator, take 5 minutes to call them. Some legislators do not read their emails, and sometimes there are too many emails to quickly recap. When in session, the legislators have a staffer who prepares a report of calls detailing the opposition or support for certain bills.

Before you call, write out what you want to say. The message needs to be short and sweet. Writing it first will help to make sure your message is received loud and clear. The person on the other end of the line needs to be able to quickly sum up what you are saying—help that person so they can help your voice be heard.

City and county officials work toward making a better community by ensuring public spaces are clean and cared for, laws and city codes are adhered to, budgets are managed, services are provided, and so much more. ACHD works to ensure that roads are developed and maintained. School Board trustees ensure that schools are functioning and children are being taught a thoughtful, accurate, and planned curriculum. Some are volunteers and some are paid for their work. These officials and trustees serve our community so our community can work in an organized, safe, and reasonable fashion.

• Read your local newspaper. Watch your local news.
• Go to or listen to a meeting. City and county government and school boards have many open meetings where the public can listen to and testify at. On all city, county, and school websites are links to what each organization is working on, agendas to meetings, instructions on how to participate, and much more.
• Contact officials via email and take the time to personalize it. When you have a problem that falls under your city or county government purview, send them an email that briefly summarizes the issue and how it affects you. If possible, provide a reasonable solution.

“When you get the same form letter over and over again, it becomes less meaningful. It’s more impactful if you take the time to personalize it.” – Diana Lachiondo, community leader and former Ada County Commissioner

• Testify at a meeting. If there is an issue that you support or don’t support, provide written or spoken testimony at the meeting where the issue is discussed. This action holds a lot of power and is recorded into the official record. Have a copy of your spoken testimony to give to the clerk so it can be recorded just as you testified. 

Letters to the Editor (LTE) are more likely to be printed but have a lower readership. LTEs tend to have a more casual and heartfelt tone. While many LTEs are angry rants, this is not the best way to communicate the positive, unifying change we are all seeking. However, this does not mean you have to be all sunshine and roses in your LTE. Emphatically and accurately point out harmful legislation or actions—this is the reason why we all need to publicly advocate for positive change that helps all who live in Idaho.

Tip: When you make a statement of fact, look it up. For example, if you are saying, “The Second Amendment says this….” Look at the Bill of Rights to check that you are correct. We have the world of good information at our fingertips—use it!
The following are specific guidelines for a few Idaho newspapers.

Idaho Press

• Word limit is 175 words or less.
• One person can submit every 30 days.
• No title, salutation, or signature is required.
• Submissions are not edited.
• Can select to run in Idaho Press, Messenger-Index, Kuna Melba News, or Meridian Press.
• Submit here: Letter to the Editor / Idaho Press

Idaho Statesman

• Word limit is 200 words or less.
• One person can submit every 30 days.
• In-state writers receive the highest priority.
• Submissions are subject to editing for clarity, length, and taste.
• Submit here: Letter to the Editor / Idaho Statesman

The Spokesman Review
(Yes, this is a Washington paper, but it covers and circulates in North Idaho too.)

• Word limit is 250 words or less.
• They will reject letters that are not factually correct, racist or written with malice.
• One person can submit every 30 days.
• Submit here: Letter to the Editor / Spokesman Review

“Style involves no inherent right or wrong. It is merely a conventional way of presenting information that is designed to ease communication” (American Psychology Association, 6th edition style guide, p.11).

Effective persuasive writing should be accessible to all readers. Help your readers understand your point of view. Here are some best practices to make your writing clear and concise to help all readers easily comprehend and appreciate your message:

• Use active voice. for nearly all your sentences. Make your subject do the action. Don’t hide the “who.”
• Use positive statements rather than negative. Notice the negative sentence above? You can use negative statements, but only when it serves the reader well and is clear.
• Keep nearly all sentences under 20 words. If a sentence is best served up long, go ahead, but make sure it is logical, structured well, and is under 35 words.
• Use plain language. If you want people to understand your message quickly and easily—use plain language. This includes using personal pronouns (I, you, they) and using the simplest word. For example, the word “entail” is not commonly used in writing or speech. “Encompass” is a little better but is still complex. Now, the words “require” or “involve” are words that all readers quickly understand, and depending on the one you use, gives a more specific meaning. Use the same, simple word so readers can scan/read your article more quickly and accurately.
• Use parallel structure in your sentences and lists. Notice how we used the same structure for all these bullet points? We did this to make this list easier to understand. The focus is on what needs to be done—the action is not buried by changing the wording structure of the points. When you want people to quickly and completely understand your ideas, variety is not your friend.
• Be concise. Decide what you want to say and say it with as few words as possible.

Trick: Read your writing out loud. Our brains automatically fill in missing information—this is one of our human strengths. However, it doesn’t help when writing. You can often hear your mistakes when you read your words out loud.

Tip: It’s always best to have someone read your writing. You don’t have to find a professional editor. Your “editor” could be just another person who likes to read and write, and is good at pointing out grammar/usage/punctuation errors. Another person reading your work can help ensure that your writing is logical and easy to understand. When your writing is clear, concise, and error free, your words hold more credence with the reader.

Unfortunately, in our state there is a large portion of the population who listen to and respect false information from questionable resources and political officials who are in politics for self-service rather than service to others. It is going to take time, patience, and empathy to combat misinformation. We will need to dig deep into our empathy reserves to help win this fight.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has some tips for combating disinformation. The following are some highlights from their list. These tips are also valuable for educating young voters who are starting their voyage as responsible, engaged citizens.

• “Information you seek out directly will usually be of higher quality than what you absorb passively on social media.” Some good resources to find quality news are NewsGuard and Media Bias/Fact Check.
• “Scrutinize the information you read before you share, especially if it confirms what you already believe to be true.” You can use reputable fact-checker websites like Snopes, AP Fact Check, PolitiFact, FactCheck.org, and Lead Stories to “try to inject truth into the debate without attacking the sharer (they may be a victim of false content themselves).”
• “Educate yourself.” The DNC page has a list of excellent resources and links that provide reputable information such as this video from NBC Factory of Lies and this article from the Knight Foundation “Disinformation, ‘Fake News’ and Influence Campaigns on Twitter.”

While it might be fun or cathartic to rant, call out, and shame those who you believe are ignorant or stupid, but stop and ask yourself: Is this effective communication? Am I improving on someone’s day or making it worse? Am I going to change anyone’s mind with this post?

Some long-held tips still ring true today: keep your word count on the lower end (under 15 words generally), engage with other users by commenting (keep positive, nobody likes a troll), try to generate original content, and consistently post on all platforms. While these are great general tips, as a group we want to rise above the fray and promote positive messaging and sharing. Sharing accurate, vetted information and spreading positive inspiration in a non-judgmental way can help to unify and break away from the “Us vs. Them” narrative that has been dividing us here in Idaho and our country.

In a blog post from Buffer.com in association with BuzzSumo, they looked at “What 777,367,063 Facebook Posts Tell us About Successful Content in 2019” meant. The following are their key takeaways from this research:

• “Video performs better than all other types of Facebook posts.”
• “The most common reactions to top Facebook video posts are LOVE and HAHA.”
• “Inspirational, funny, and practical content generates the most engagement.”

Here are some suggestions to relate this data for our purposes:

• The inspirational: Watch this video from the Honorable John Lewis. It’s both funny and inspirational.
• The funny: In the spirit of generational understanding, this video of Dan Levy teaching his father Eugene Levy youth slang might be fun to post.

The practical: Repost or create action items that clearly and accurately state what an issue is and how to help resolve the issue. For example, if there is a bill that is working its way through the legislature that is going to negatively affect voting rights, state the name of the bill, the reason it is detrimental to our fundamental voting rights (include a brief personal story or reflection), and give what action is needed. By doing this, you help people act in positive ways. You give them a blueprint of what needs to be done and why.

Most legislators have newsletters, make sure to sign up so you can receive them in your inbox. You can sign up to receive any legislator’s newsletter, not just your legislators. Follow your district’s Facebook page, for example Ada County District 16. Sign up for the newsletter from IDLCC (Idaho Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee). The Idaho Press has an excellent blog: Eye on Boise. Boise State Public radio has a Legislative Update newsletter.

The official Idaho Legislature website also has current information:

• There are 14 standing committees for the House, and 10 for the Senate. There are joint committees and special committees. To see all of the current committees, click this link: https://legislature.idaho.gov/committees/
• For current legislative sessions, go to https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/ and select the session year. You can look up legislation by number or subject and see the ongoing weekly bill status.

We’re glad you asked! Here is a download of our free style guide: DOWNLOAD