District office drop-off toolkit for citizen lobbyists
Pictured: happy faces from constituents submitting their packets at the offices of their Representatives!
A visit to drop off a packet of materials or even a mailed packet of materials helps to pressure legislative offices to review the legislation and to sign on in a timely manner. Hearing from constituents helps to inform legislative staff which issues they need to prioritize for their boss.
Step 1: Locate your district office.
You can find this information on the website for your local Representative or Senator. If the district office is too far from you, you should mail your packet to their D.C. office.
Step 2: Print out your handouts.
If you’re looking for information relating to Medicaid cuts, the fight to restore ACA tax credits, a summary of how these policies affect your state, or the latest information in how your state government may or may not be stepping up to support residents, the Kaiser Foundation is a great start for the latest updates. KFF has an interactive timeline of the implementation of these changes at the federal level that can be found here.
Public Citizen’s latest statements on these fights are listed here.
Step 3: Include your address and/or a brief personal testimony.
This can be as simple as a post-it note with just your name and address, as you need to prove that you are a constituent. If you want to write something longer, you can use our sample template here.
Be sure to look up the current version of the House (HR 3069) and Senate (S 1506) Medicare for All bills to see if your legislator is already signed on. If they did, be sure to thank them for supporting the bill in the past and let them know you look forward to seeing their name on the bill again this session.
Step 4: Take a selfie with your packet of handouts.
You may be able to tag legislators to a social media post. If you use Instagram, you should be able to tag one of your legislator’s social media accounts to an Instagram story. If you plan on writing a letter to the editor of your local paper, you can also include this photo in your submission.
Step 5: Drop off or mail your packet.
Be kind to staff and let them know why you’re there. Remember, your legislators work for you!
Step 6: Let us know how it went!
Send us an email letting us know who you visited. Don’t forget to share your selfie with us!
Step 7: Review other options
Have a look at the other strategies in our 2025 Reintroduction Toolkit to find other ways to make an impact.