Who has the most powerful influence on a politician? Is it the lobbyist? Is it the special interest group? Is it another more powerful politician? It is none of those. The most powerful influence on a politician is an informed constituent.
Does that surprise you? It shouldn't. As a former lawmaker who now trains people to engage with politicians, I have found that most people never harness their power as constituents. Most constituents don't believe that they have the power to influence their elected officials. Elected officials crave interaction with constituents who are engaged, curious, respectful, and solution-focused. The reason they crave that interaction is because they are trying to solve community problems and they need input and support to get that done.
As a citizen of this great nation, it is critical that people understand the power they have by voting and building civic relationships with their elected officials. A relationship between a constituent and an elected official is similar to all relationships. It must be built on an understanding of mutual respect, have an allowance for grace, and a focus on shared goals. Once this relationship is established, your ability to influence your elected officials becomes very powerful.
So how do these relationships form? An elected official can seem very far away initially, and it doesn't help if they have a large staff or operate far distances from your home. Start as local as you can: school boards, city councils, state legislature. The goal is that you would eventually have a civic relationship with every level of government that could possibly impact you. The reason you want that for every level is so that you can be a resource to your community when it is impacted by government.
The first step in engagement is to simply reach out to the elected official at the most local level you can get. Go to coffee with them and find out why they ran, what their priorities are, and if it's someone you align with, ask what you can do to help them. Then, after they have shared their perspective, it is vital that you also take the time to explain what is important to you. This is critical because elected officials need to know what their voters are thinking about and concerned with. Just because you don't line up politically doesn't mean you can't have a civic relationship. Don't hold back on your opinions, but also maintain a professional tone and demeanor. Keep the meeting short, ideally no more than forty-five minutes to an hour, and at the end ask for their personal cell. So often emails get overlooked due to sheer volume, but if you can get a cell phone number from your elected official, then you can have much better results advocating for your community. However, keep in mind that those numbers are private, and if they are given to you, it's vital that you do not abuse their confidentiality.
After the initial conversation, sign up for their newsletter. Almost all elected officials will have a newsletter that goes out on a regular cadence. This is where you can stay informed on what they are up to and how you can best support them. Attend their events as you are able. Many times these events are very small and it becomes easy to talk again with your elected official and check in on what you have talked about previously with them.
During election time, your elected officials will need all the help they can get. Donations, of course, are very important—and every dollar helps. Surprisingly, the cost of signs and palm cards is not that expensive, and any modest donation could take care of printing several hundred palm cards or a dozen 4x4 street signs. But more important than monetary donations are donations of your time. When I said earlier that events tend to be small with local electeds, I meant it, and when they need volunteers to door-knock, the group gets even smaller. Many people get intimidated by knocking on a stranger's door to talk politics. I understand. You can also be paired up with a more experienced volunteer, or better yet, with the candidate themselves. Once you hit a few doors, it becomes easy and fun.
Every politician remembers who comes out to door-knock for them. When you show up and give your time, you are noticed and appreciated. Knocking doors together or dropping off literature when it's over one hundred degrees has a way of bonding people! Creating a civic relationship with your elected officials will empower you to solve issues in your community immediately. You will have harnessed a power that very few citizens develop. Don't be the voter that yells at the TV, be the voter that picks up the phone and gets stuff done!