Do Your Phone Calls and Emails Matter?

The Economy of Political Pressure

Most people believe politicians do not listen. A Rasmussen survey of voters found that only 11 percent thought their Members of Congress listen to the people they represent. Most people are wrong about how politicians listen, and once that gets clear, the path to actually moving them gets short.

Former congressional staffers who wrote the Indivisible Guide put on paper how political offices actually count constituent contact. The framing they use:

One phone call counts the way a hundred to a thousand angry voters count. One personal email counts the way ten to fifty voters count. One form letter counts for one voter, if it counts at all.

These ratios track closely with what the Congressional Management Foundation has measured directly through more than two decades of survey research.

In CMF’s 2015 report, “Citizen-Centric Advocacy: The Untapped Power of Constituent Engagement,” 90 percent of staff said an individualized postal letter and 88 percent said an individualized email would have “a lot of positive influence” on a Member of Congress who has not yet decided where to land on an issue. Tracking the in-person visit number across three surveys spanning a decade, CMF found 99 percent in 2004, 97 percent in 2010, and 94 percent in 2015 reported in-person constituent visits would have some or a lot of influence on an undecided lawmaker.

These numbers describe what moves a lawmaker who is still open to persuasion. They do not describe what moves a Member who has already locked in a position through donor commitments, party leadership, or public stance. Most issues, most days, sit in the open category, and the work happens there.

Personal communication beats form communication every time, and even social media has measurable thresholds. Eighty percent of staff in CMF’s #SocialCongress 2015 survey said 30 or fewer responses to an office’s post are enough to get the staff to pay attention, and 35 percent said 1-10 responses would do it. The same dynamic shows up locally. State legislators and city councilors monitor district-specific Facebook groups and subreddits, and the threshold for “people are angry about this” is lower than the threshold at a federal office because the noise floor is lower.

A gap exists between what staff find useful and what they receive. Ninety-one percent of staff said information about how a bill or issue would affect their district or state would be helpful, but only 9 percent report receiving that information frequently. Seventy-nine percent said a personal story from a constituent connected to the issue would be helpful, but only 18 percent report receiving such stories frequently. The constituent who calls with a personal story tied to local impact arrives at an office that has been waiting to hear exactly that.

That accounting describes Congress, and the numbers at the state level are different and far more favorable to the constituent willing to pick up a phone.

State-level offices receive a small fraction of the contact volume that flows to a member of Congress. State comptrollers and state treasurers, by accounts widely shared in organizing circles, often go weeks or months without seeing coordinated constituent campaigns. District attorneys hear from victims, defense attorneys, and the press, with constituents arriving in the rare third lane. State legislators field nowhere near what their federal counterparts handle. State officials also operate with less donor capture and less partisan whipping than federal Members, so a larger share of their decisions sit in the open category where contact can actually move outcomes.

The thresholds that move these offices are correspondingly small:

10 calls in an hour catches the staff’s attention. 50 calls in a day pulls the senior team into a room. 100 calls in a day clears every other item off the docket. 500 calls in a week forces policy change consideration. 1,000 calls creates a record the office cannot ignore, and that the office knows will surface in the next election cycle.

Personalized calls do the work, while form letters, petitions, and automated messages are filtered out by office triage before staff ever read them. One real phone call, in the caller’s own words, outweighs hundreds of templated messages.

There are five offices to call, and each ask rests on established statutory authority or working American precedent. None of them require new law, and every one of them is something the official has the standing power to do this week.

The first call goes to your county district attorney.

Federal agents commit state crimes against residents in every state where they operate. The most thoroughly documented current example sits in the Department of Justice’s January 16, 2026 filing in AFSCME v. SSA, in which the government conceded on the record that DOGE personnel moved Social Security data through a third-party Cloudflare server, transmitted an encrypted file containing names and addresses to the Department of Homeland Security, signed a voter data agreement to match SSA records against voter rolls, and continued accessing the data after a federal court ordered them to stop. That conduct violates state computer crime and identity theft statutes in every state. Dual sovereignty, reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in Gamble v. United States, 587 U.S. 678 (2019), insulates state convictions from presidential pardon and from federal non-prosecution. State v. Mayze, 280 Ga. 5 (2005), and parallel rules in California Penal Code § 786(b) and the codes of most other states put venue where the victim lives. Every county in America contains victims, and every county DA has jurisdiction.

State computer crime and identity theft statutes are triggered by the unauthorized access, acquisition, or transfer of personal data itself, not by downstream financial harm. The crime is the breach of authorized access. A resident does not need to wait for an empty bank account or a stolen identity to file before the conduct becomes prosecutable, because the conduct documented in AFSCME v. SSA is already the crime. State statutes including California Penal Code § 530.5, New York Penal Law § 156.05 and following, and Texas Penal Code § 33.02 all follow this structure.

In Manhattan: Alvin Bragg, (212) 335-9000. In Los Angeles: Nathan Hochman, (213) 257-2000. In Cook County: Eileen O’Neill Burke, (312) 603-1880. Everyone else: search “[Your County] District Attorney phone.”

Here is the script:

“Hello, I’m [name] from [zip code]. The Department of Justice’s January 16, 2026 filing in AFSCME v. SSA documented that DOGE personnel moved Social Security data of residents of this county through unauthorized channels, including a transfer of roughly a thousand names and addresses to the Department of Homeland Security and continued access after a federal court ordered them to stop. That conduct violates our state’s computer crime and identity theft statutes. This is state jurisdiction. Under Gamble v. United States, a state can prosecute the same conduct as a separate offense regardless of whether the federal government acts. Under State v. Mayze and our state’s victim-residence venue rule, the crime is prosecutable where the victim lives, which is this county. Federal officer removal only shifts the forum; it does not strip the District Attorney of charging authority. Will the District Attorney open a criminal investigation into DOGE personnel for crimes against residents of this county? Yes or no?”

The second call goes to your state attorney general.

State AGs hold three standing powers worth pressing, any one of which the office can use this week. They can convene a state Epstein task force using general criminal jurisdiction over conduct that occurred on state soil. They can open state criminal investigations into federal personnel committing state crimes against residents. They can move to revoke or suspend the licenses and corporate charters of companies documented as infrastructure for war crimes or anti-democratic federal action. The same dual sovereignty doctrine that gives the DA charging authority gives the AG independent authority to investigate and prosecute, regardless of federal action or inaction.

In California: Rob Bonta, (916) 445-9555. In New York: Letitia James, (800) 771-7755. In Delaware: Kathy Jennings, (302) 577-8500. Everyone else: search “[Your State] Attorney General phone.”

Here is the script:

“I’m [name] from [zip code]. The Attorney General has three powers worth using right now. Convene a state Epstein investigation task force. Open state criminal investigations into federal personnel committing crimes against our residents. Revoke or suspend the licenses of corporations enabling war crimes and federal abuses. Federal jurisdiction does not preempt state authority. Under Gamble v. United States and dual sovereignty, the Attorney General has independent authority over state crimes regardless of federal action. Will the Attorney General use any of these powers? Which ones, and when?”

The third call goes to your governor.

Governors hold executive contracting authority in every state. They can sign an order tomorrow morning terminating state contracts with corporations documented as enabling war crimes or anti-democratic federal action, and they need no legislative approval to do it.

Phone numbers vary by state, and a search for “[Your State] Governor phone” returns the office line.

Here is the script:

“I’m [name] from [zip code]. I’m asking the Governor to issue an executive order terminating state contracts with corporations documented by federal courts, the United Nations, and major investigative outlets as enablers of war crimes or federal abuses against our residents. The contracting authority exists in every state. Will the Governor sign that order? Yes or no?”

The fourth call goes to your state treasurer.

Treasurers manage pension assets and the standing power to divest. The Texas Permanent School Fund pulled $8.5 billion from BlackRock in March 2024, acting under a 2021 Texas law and a list of restricted firms maintained by the Texas Comptroller’s office. The move drew condemnation from BlackRock and survived without legal challenge, so the mechanism is tested, and the same path works in any direction.

In California: Fiona Ma, (916) 653-2995. In Illinois: Michael Frerichs, (217) 782-2211. Everyone else: search “[Your State] Treasurer phone.”

Here is the script:

“I’m [name] from [zip code]. I’m asking the Treasurer to direct the pension board to divest from corporations documented as enabling war crimes or anti-democratic federal action, including index fund exposure, and to evaluate fund managers on the same criterion. Texas pulled $8.5 billion from BlackRock in 2024. The mechanism is legally tested. Will the Treasurer make that move? Yes or no?”

The fifth call goes to your state legislator.

The first four asks hit immediately, and the fifth asks for the structural piece that makes the rest sustainable.

Federal financial coercion works because states bank where the federal government can reach them. North Dakota took a different path in 1919, when the state legislature established the Bank of North Dakota under the Nonpartisan League’s program of state ownership and control of credit. The Bank of North Dakota is state-owned, state-deposited, and state-controlled, and it has operated continuously for over a century. It serves as a correspondent and lending partner for community banks across the state, provides counter-cyclical lending during disasters, and generates revenue that flows back to the state’s general fund. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston published an in-depth study of the bank in 2011 examining whether the model could be adapted for other states. New Mexico, California, Massachusetts, and a handful of other states currently have public banking legislation in committee or under active consideration.

Openstates.org lists every state legislator and their direct office line.

Here is the script:

“I’m [name] from [district]. The Bank of North Dakota has operated continuously since 1919 as the only state-owned bank in the country. Its presence gives North Dakota tools no other state has. I’m asking the legislator to introduce or co-sponsor legislation establishing a state public bank on that model, with explicit authority to hold state pension assets, process state tax flows, and provide state-chartered services to entities the federal government may target. Bills are already in committee in New Mexico, California, and Massachusetts. Will the legislator move on this? Yes or no?”

The 30-Second Version

If you’re nervous or short on time, this works for any official:

“I’m [name] from [zip]. You have specific constitutional authority to push back on what’s happening at the federal level. Will you use it to protect us? Yes or no?”

The Language That Lands

Don’t say “federal overreach,” because that phrase is policy-speak. Say what’s actually being done. Federal agents arresting people at churches, schools, and hospitals. Tracking pregnancies through data brokers. Building registries based on religion or political affiliation. Cutting off disaster relief over political disagreement. Forcing public servants to sign loyalty oaths. Separating children from families. Operating detention facilities outside the rule of law. Using Social Security data without legal authority. Staff respond to specificity and tune out abstraction.

If You’re in a Red State

Add this to any script: “The Tenth Amendment reserves powers to the states. States have defied federal mandates they disagreed with. State sovereignty cuts both ways. This is about whether our state uses the powers it has.”

Calls Compound When Paired with Something You Already Do

The reader who decides to call once usually calls once, and the reader who pairs the call with an existing habit calls fifty times in a year. Activism that lives as a separate item on a to-do list loses to whatever else is on the list, while activism that rides on top of an existing routine survives.

Pick something you already do every week. Take the Tuesday morning coffee, or the Wednesday night meeting of whatever group you’re in, or the Sunday afternoon walk, and stack a five-minute call onto the front or back end of it. The call becomes part of the thing instead of a competitor to it.

Group settings multiply the effect. Any meeting your group already holds can carry a five-minute action segment at the start or end, where everyone pulls out their phone and submits the same contact form to the AG, or everyone leaves the same voicemail for a city council member, or everyone signs the same email to the governor with personal lines added. One person calling is a data point, while twelve people calling from the same meeting is a coordinated campaign in the office’s logs. The same meeting that already happens does double duty without anyone adding a new commitment.

Invite a friend to do the call with you on the phone, or at the next meeting, or in a shared text thread where everyone reports in when they finish. Activism is multiplicative when it travels.

How to Maximize Your Impact

The best windows are Tuesday through Thursday, between ten in the morning and noon, or between two in the afternoon and four. Mondays and Fridays produce lower yield, and lunch hour is dead time. Fifty calls between nine and ten in the morning will pull a senior staff meeting by eleven.

Triple your impact by following each call with three more steps: email the same message to show you’re tracking, post on social media that you called to trigger others, and call back in three days if the office has not responded to show persistence.

The multiplier effect is real:

1 person posting they called brings 5 to 10 others. 10 people posting brings a hundred or more. 100 people posting brings thousands.

Social Media Scripts

Twitter/X: “Just called [Official Name] at [Number]. They have specific power to push back on this and they aren’t being asked to use it. If a hundred of us call, we move them. Here’s what I said: [paste script]. Your turn.”

Facebook/Instagram: “Just called my state [office]. The staffer was surprised the call was coming in on this. Constituent pressure on these offices is rare and that’s exactly why it works. Call yours: [paste relevant script and number].”

If They Deflect

They say: “This is a federal matter.” You say: “Dual sovereignty under Gamble v. United States gives this office independent authority. The federal government’s decision to prosecute or not has no bearing on state charges. Will the office use its authority? Yes or no?”

They say: “We need to review the legal options.” You say: “Other states have already used these powers. When will this office?”

They say: “It’s complicated.” You say: “The constitutional authority is settled. The question is whether the office will use it.”

They say: “We’re monitoring the situation.” You say: “Monitoring is not the ask. Action is the ask. Yes or no?”

If they hem and haw further, “noted, have a nice day” closes the call cleanly.

Document Everything

Write down who you called, the date and time, the staffer’s name, and what the staffer said. Asking for the staffer’s name puts the office on notice that the call is being tracked, and posting the record publicly creates a trail others can follow.

Post format: “Called [Official] at [time]. They said [response]. Calling back [date] if no action.”

Why This Works

Marijuana legalization in California, Colorado, Washington, and elsewhere made federal scheduling unenforceable across most of the country, because the states acted first and the federal government did not have the resources or the political will to override them. States that move first and force the federal government to react usually win, while states that ask permission first achieve nothing.

The constitutional authority underneath all of this is settled law. State officials can prosecute federal officials for state crimes, and presidential pardons do not reach state convictions. State attorneys general can revoke corporate charters, and state legislatures can establish public banks. The anti-commandeering doctrine, established in Printz v. United States and New York v. United States, prevents the federal government from forcing states to enforce federal law.

The Rockefeller Institute of Government’s annual Balance of Payments report tracks how much each state sends to the federal government and how much it receives back. California consistently sits among the largest net donor states by absolute dollar amount, with USAFacts placing the 2024 gap at over $275 billion. New York and several other high-income states join California as net contributors in most non-pandemic years. Every Fortune 500 company depends on a state charter to operate, and the federal government cannot run without state cooperation.

Everyone has influence. The place where you have the most of it is within yourself, then within your community, then with your local representatives, and on outward from there. These calls and emails are that influence applied to create change.

You can call them every day. You can invite a friend to start making the calls with you. Educate, Activate, Recruit, Repeat.

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