US-SOS.INFO

Context of Messages

(This tool is difficult to use on Safari, almost impossible on a mobile device.)

Message Congress

This tool makes it easy to send messages to your members of Congress. It allows you to:

  1. Select from suggested messages (and optionally edit them) or create your own.
  2. Choose which member of Congress receives your message.
  3. Automatically personalize the message with a salutation to the recipient and a closing from you.
  4. Easily send one message to all of your Congress members, then send a different one.

Privacy note: your address and ZIP Code are sent to Geocodio to identify your members of Congress. Everything else stays in your browser and on this device.

Step 1. Get voter information

You can input your information below or select a saved profile:

Most browsers will autofill your voter information. You can edit it here. (Be sure to use your official name.) The tool uses the information to sign your message and to find your members of Congress. You can save it as a profile so this device remembers it.

If you leave the “handle” field blank, the tool will create a handle automatically from your name and location.

Step 2. Prepare the message

Pick a message, or write your own. You can edit the subject and text before sending it.

Step 3. Open the official’s message form:

Note: When you click on an official’s name, the official’s contact form will cover this tool. To make both visible, click and drag the official’s browser tab down and to the right in order to make a separate window, then click and drag the left edge of the page to place the windows side by side. To move a whole page, click and drag on an empty space at the top of the browser window.

The official’s page that comes up may not be the form that you want, but it should help you find it. Look for words like “contact” or “email.” There may be a message icon in the upper right corner. Try clicking on that.

If there’s nothing helpful on the page, try making the page bigger by clicking and dragging on its edge. Sometimes important information is hidden if the page is too small.

When you find the form, click the “Fix link” button, erase the address in the New URL: box, paste the correct address into the box, and click OK. You won’t have to hunt for the form again.

It’s even possible that you’ve been given the wrong Congress member. If all else fails, Find your member on www.usa.gov/elected-officials will provide the form.

Step 4. Send the message.

  1. Input your voter information by starting to type your name into the form, then clicking on the suggested autofill. If the autofill doesn’t work correctly, you’ll may want to copy and paste from Step 1, above, or enter the information manually. (As far as I can tell, Firefox always works.)
  2. If the official’s site uses a “topic” or “category” dropdown, choose the closest matching topic.
  3. Click twice on Copy subject, click twice on where it should go, and paste it into place.
  4. Repeat for Copy message
  5. Click Send on the message form.
  6. Close the official’s form.

To send the message to another congress member, repeat from Step 3. For a different message, repeat from Step 2.

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