Countable Wants To Make Politics A ‘Continual Conversation’

Countable Wants To Make Politics A ‘Continual Conversation’ | The Governance Lab @ NYUThe Governance Lab @ NYU:

Countable, available for iOS and coming to Android soon, presents a succinct summary of each piece of legislation Congress is considering, along with a short one-sentence argument in favor of the bill or against it. You are then able to vote “yay” or “nay.” When you are logged in through Facebook, Countable can automatically generate a message and send it to your representatives based on your location.

Countable also keeps track of how the lawmakers vote and then informs you how your representatives’ votes stack up to your own, generating “compatibility rankings."

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How to talk to Your Reps in the District

POPVOX - The Hill 101: Talking to Your Reps in the District - POPVOX.com:

It's almost July 4th and Members of Congress are in their states and districts. Over the next few days, they will attend events, give a few speeches, and talk with constituents before heading back to Washington on July 9 for what may be a flurry of activity leading into the August recess.

While town hall meetings are scheduled in August, much of the important summer legislative action takes place in July. Especially in years with midterm elections, July is an important month for finishing up legislative business. Here's a few tips on getting your message to your reps when they are home in the district this July:

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Now, all congress people can be reached by email at OpenCongress.org

We finally gave Congress email addresses - Sunlight Foundation Blog:

If you visit a legislator's page on OpenCongress, you'll see an email address in the right-hand sidebar that looks like Sen.Reid@opencongress.org or Rep.Boehner@opencongress.org. You can also email myreps@opencongress.org to email both of your senators and your House representatives at once.

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Connecting with Politicians During Election Season

New Approaches, from Advocacy Associates: Episode 19 - Connecting with Outgoing Politicians:

Host Craig Price calls the Advocacy Hotline to talk to the guru, Stephanie Vance, about how to get keep in the legislators view even in an election year.

This week's question: Should I not bother communicating with legislators until the election is over?

This is an audio podcast.

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A civic-social platform for a new kind of citizen duty in The Netherlands

A civic-social platform for a new kind of citizen duty | The Governance Lab @ NYUThe Governance Lab @ NYU:

"...a small team of four started Pleio for Dutch civil servants and citizens to meet each other, have discussions, and work together on things that matter to them."

(Pleio translates loosely in English to “government square.”)

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Net Democracy foundation: improving civic engagement through technology

Out in the Open: An Open Source Website That Gives Voters a Platform to Influence Politicians | The Governance Lab @ NYUThe Governance Lab @ NYU:

“If you want to participate in the political system as it is, it’s really costly,” she says. “You need to study politics in university, and become a party member and work your way up. But not every citizen can devote their lives to politics.”

Democracy OS is designed to address that problem by getting citizens directly involved in debating specific proposals when their representatives are actually voting on them.

That’s why Mancini started the Net Democracy foundation, a not-for-profit that explores ways of improving civic engagement through technology. The foundation’s first project is something calledDemocracy OS, an online platform for debating and voting on political issues...

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DemocracyMap - Discover your representatives from all levels of government

DemocracyMap - Discover and understand the civic entities for a specific location | EngagingCities:

• The current DemocracyMap prototype provides primary contact information for every city, county, and state in the U.S. as well as contact information for all state and national legislators, all governors, all county officials, and over 100,000 municipal officials.
• At its core, DemocracyMap is helping people connect with their government and better understand the civic entities that represent a community.

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How Race Influences Citizen Contact With Officeholders

How Race Influences Citizen Contact With Officerholders | Demos:

• According to some surveys, whites are twice as likely as citizens of other races to communicate with elected representatives. 
• The racial identities of elected officials matter to citizens, my field experiments suggest. When thousands of residents of multi-member state legislative districts were invited to communicate with their legislators, blacks were much more willing – in fact, twice as willing – to communicate with black representatives, while white constituents were twice as willing to communicate with white legislators. Constituents of both races were more reluctant to send messages to legislators not of their own racial background.

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Introducing Congress for iOS app

Introducing Congress for iOS - Sunlight Foundation Blog:

• Now it is easy to learn more about your member of Congress, contact them directly and see their activities right from your phone. Follow the latest legislation, floor activity and even get a breakdown of votes with just a swipe and tap. The new Congress app for iOS has many more features in development and complements the immensely popular version for Android.
• Sunlight offers a number of apps for iOS and Android devices, such as the award-winning Sitegeist, the localized Open States and the innovative Ad Hawk.

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PeopleCount gives you an issue profile to share with your state and federal representatives

PeopleCount | About:

• PeopleCount.org is a non-partisan organization that empowers the public to communicate constructively by taking stands on political issues influencing the country today and seeing the collective results. Through each political profile on PeopleCount.org, users are given a voice to provide relevant and timely solutions to government issues, including some that are not yet in the mainstream news.
• With PeopleCount.org, you can create your unique political profile on issues such as climate change and renewable energy. Each profile is a set of questions asking for your positions or beliefs about issues or legislation. A short while after a profile appears, the collective opinions will automatically be shared with you and your elected officials.
• PeopleCount.org is also open to state and federal representatives, allowing our leaders to be accountable and see where their constituents stand on issues.

PeopleCount.org

During August, meet with your Congressperson while in home district

>> Take Action:
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"Meet Your Congressperson: Help Us Get Your Members of Congress to Combat Unlimited Secret Corporate Money in Elections"
Public Citizen

• Call your representative or senators today and set up a meeting this month to urge them to support a constitutional amendment and other reforms to thwart the corporate takeover of our democracy.

During August, members of Congress will be in their home districts talking with the people.  Go to Public Citizen for instructions on how to set up your own meeting.

Phone in for information on your representatives in Washington, DC, and on elections, for free!

From:  Call on Congress  |  Sunlight Foundation

• Available in both English and Spanish, one phone call provides you with instant information on what Congress is doing in Washington, D.C. 

• Call 1-888-907-6886

• Call to find out how your representatives are voting on bills and raising campaign money.  You can also be connected with your lawmakers’ offices or get details on where to vote on Election Day.

Read Seven Ways Citizens Can Interact With Government Using Social Media

From:  7 Ways Citizens Can Use Social Media To Improve Government  |  By George Knowles  |  OhMyGov

• Use of social media is becoming a more common and important aspect of people’s lives, and the political sphere is no exception.

• Here are seven ways that citizens can use social media to improve how government works for them.

• Calling for transparency -- Social media has the potential to make interactions between the citizens and government more efficient and satisfying.

• Pushing grassroots ideas to the top -- Before, grassroots movements would often languish in obscurity, but social media has the power to quickly move ideas to the forefront of public discourse. 

• “All politics is local” -- Social media can be used to improve the quality and speed of interaction with government when addressing hyper-local issues.

• Saving time and money -- Time and resources can be saved on less immediate and interactive mediums like newsletters, press releases, or telephone calls.

• Drawing attention to unequal or unacceptable city services -- The power of social media can push individual voices to the front of the discussion quickly.

• Crisis management/Disaster relief -- In the event of emergencies, social media has the potential to not only improve government, but to act as sources of crucial information.

• Grassroots organizing -- Nothing is more political than citizens taking to the streets (and cyberspace) to petition the government for change.  The recent Occupy protest movement relies heavily on the use of social media, and the reach that it provides has made the movement a global phenomenon. 

More details can be found at OhMyGov's post.

Use PopVox When an In-Person Visit or Phone Call to Your Congress Member is Not Practicable

From:  PopVox: How to advocate your cause in Congress, by JD Lasica  |  Socialbrite

• Professional advocates are good at mobilizing support for or against a particular bill.  [For individuals' personal needs, however,] "PopVox funnels voices into very specific asks,” she said.

• While an in-person visit or phone call from a constituent is still the best way to influence a member of Congress, that’s not always practicable-- bring in PopVox.

• On PopVox, a visitor has to choose a bill on a certain topic and support or oppose it as a first step.

• The site then works each day to make sure voters’ messages are delivered through something called Congressional Web forms.

• Transparency is part of the PopVox formula.  When you use the service, the public and news media can see the comments you send to members.

• Citizens and advocates also have the option to share their cause, plea or rant via Facebook, Twitter and across the social Web.

For details, please view this very informative introductory video by SocialBrite.

How to contact your own representatives

One of the most important of the government reform NGO's in our nation's capital is the venerable Common Cause.  They are all about how people can improve our nation's democracy, and they fight the good fight against Washington's latest ethics breaches.

In deference to their perfectly complete article, I encourage you to go to Common Cause Georgia's recent post entitled "Tell 'em what you want."  It concisely lays out what you need to know before making that call to your elected official about a critical issue or problem.

It's written by their interns Lindsay Jacobs and Rachel Bradley and accepts comments.

How to effectively advocate for your issue in our two party system

From: Advocacy Associates
The Two Party System and What It Means for your Advocacy

• how you can overcome the challenges posed in our system and effectively advocate for your issue
• DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED
• Use the power of Constituency
• Persistence is key
• Find like-minded individuals
• Lastly, gain support from larger groups to endorse your issue

The Advocacy Associates' post includes some insights on each of the five tips; its author is experienced dealing with such problems in his work on Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail.  And, he published this article about possible reformers to help the two party system.

Our elected officials want to hear from us

Advocacy Associates
Advocacy Tips: You Cannot Persuade if You Don't Persist!

• When an issue that is important to you is down to the wire [and you can't schedule a meeting with your representative], don’t feel bad about contacting your congressional office multiple times. Be tactful (don’t call every five minutes), but keep the momentum going. The truth is they want to hear from their constituents.

One of the most effective means of citizen engagement with our elected officials is through personal meetings.  And most opportunities to meet our representatives occur when they are back in their districts, away from Washington or the state capitol.  Most have their own district offices-- sometimes more than one; they also may conduct public meetings when they're home.

A CMF survey of Congressional staff on citizen advocacy and best approaches

Congressional Management Foundation (CMF)
Perceptions of Citizen Advocacy on Capitol Hill

• This report is based on an online survey of 260 congressional staff on their opinions and practices related to constituent communications, including social media. The survey was conducted between October 12 and December 13, 2010.

Key Findings [please go to the post for brief statistical analysis behind each finding]:

• The Internet, Participation and Accountability
• Citizens Have More Power Than They Realize
• It's Not the Delivery Method – It's the Content
• Grassroots Advocacy Campaigns – Staff are Conflicted
• Social Media Used to Listen and Communicate

For the constituents-- the citizens within each representative's district-- this is a goldmine of helpful tips on the best ways to reach and communicate with government officials in Washington, DC.  Please go to the post for details, and, download the CMF Report.

OpenCongress version 3-- new tools for engaging with Congress and fellow constituents

OpenCongress: OpenCongress Blog
Announcing OpenCongress v.3 - Now the Easiest Way to Organize and Contact Congress

• OpenCongress is pleased to announce the release of version 3 of its free & open-source public resource website, putting new tools for engaging with Congress at the center of the site experience.
• OpenCongress version 3’s new engagement tools are primarily composed of two complementary sets of enhanced site features, free and open to everyone :: 

• Contact-Congress: an open-source web tool to find and write a letter to all three of your members of Congress, send it immediately to their official government contact email addresses, track responses, and share the letter with the OpenCongress community and over social media. 

• MyOC Groups: an open-source social network on OpenCongress that provides the necessary tools for people who share a position on an issue to work together on watchdogging, educating, and organizing actions directed at Congress. It also helps OpenCongress users link up with established organizations that are already working on issues they care about.

OpenCongress is one of ActivismNews' "follow" sites found in the right sidebar of all of its pages.  Writing your congressmembers is a time-honored tradition and still one of the best ways to tell your representatives what you think of particular bills or issues.

In order to access OpenCongress' blog, you need to be registered (free) with them.

How to begin advocate grass roots organizing

From Advocacy Associates Back to Basics: Old-Fashioned, But Very Effective, Approaches to Advocacy

When faced with the daunting task of creating a strong grass roots campaign, I found that many people are unsure of where to start. 

In addition to the new [social media] technologies that are available, let’s turn to some classic advocacy strategies that we have refined based on our work with our clients. 

1. Information Gathering-
2. Organization-
3. Old-Fashioned Phone Calls – 

Apply these three strategies in the beginning of your campaign and I promise that you will have the solid foundation needed to have a strong influence over legislation.

These are common sense strategies, based on experience.  Please read the entire post for details.