Why Call My Representative?

By Emily Montero, Deputy Digital Director at EnviroVoters

I’ll be honest: Before I joined EnviroVoters, I had never contacted one of my representatives before! 

But after learning how important—and easy!—it is to talk to representatives about my priorities, I’ve been using EnviroVoters forms all the time to share my thoughts by signing petitions, emailing, and even making phone calls.

Here are answers to the questions I used to have about advocacy:

“So, what’s the point in calling or emailing my rep? I already vote in elections.”

Here’s the truth: Your representatives are listening more than you think.

Every call, every email, and every message that hits a representatives’ office gets logged. If they start seeing a flood of calls from their own voters, they pay attention and prioritize those issues—sometimes even when they personally disagree! 

With dangerous bills flying through Congress that could take away our healthcare, clean energy, food assistance, and student loan relief, it’s vital that California leads on climate—and staying silent is not an option. Silence gets mistaken for support.

Calling your representative isn’t about changing their mind overnight. It’s about showing public pressure, building momentum, and reminding them that we’re watching. Your voice might be the one that tips the scale.

Make them earn your vote—or lose it. 

(And to soothe any fears of an awkward confrontation, staffers who answer phones are trained specifically to answer these calls! Their only job is to record your name, listen to your stance, and write it down—they’re not going to grill you.)

“Okay, but my representative is a Democrat–so they’re definitely good on climate, right?”

Here’s the deal—there’s always something to talk about. 

First of all, your Democrat representative might not be as good as you think. In California, 37% of Democrats still accept oil money, and last year, those Oil Dems got a C average on our Environmental Scorecard. Some Democrats scored as low as 25% in last year’s scorecard! (You can find your rep’s score here.)

And no matter what your Democrat representative’s voting record or oil money status is, there’s one thing for sure. They’re hearing from corporations, Big Oil, and climate deniers. 

Calling your Democrat representative gives them a chance to hear from regular people like you and me who care about the environment and want to see bold progress made. Telling them personal stories, requests, or praise for the good work they’ve done gives them leverage, urgency, and motivation to work harder to move policy in the right direction. And it helps keep them focused on the issues that impact the people they serve most.

“Why bother calling my Republican representative? It’s not like I’ll change their mind.”

As someone living in a red district, you have a unique opportunity to enact major change—maybe even more than someone living in a Democratic district.

Republican representatives often don’t expect to hear from constituents from the opposing party, so it’s easy for them to write you off and focus on the people they do hear from: those working against climate progress and a safer future. But if you show up respectfully, consistently, and loudly, you remind them that they work for you—not just their donors or their party.

And that can often make a huge difference. We’ve seen firsthand that Republicans, especially in the California state legislature, can be influenced deeply by constituent messages. Republicans have broken with party lines on a vote, worked collaboratively with Democrats on legislation, and publicly stood up on specific issues because of voices like yours. Your opinion, stories, and requests matter—and the calls you make to your representatives have the potential to have a huge influence. 

Long story short:

“Okay, I’m sold. How do I get started?”

It takes one minute to take the first step using one of our quick and easy advocacy forms. Just fill in your information, and we’ll find your representatives for you. Then review the pre-written message (or make edits to add a personal touch!) and press send—the message will automatically be sent directly to your representative’s inbox.  

If you join our mailing list, you’ll get opportunities right in your inbox to fill out these kinds of quick actions to take, exactly when your actions are needed the most. 

Try it out here with a message to your Senator asking them to protect our national monuments: