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Back and forth between you and votizen, is text messages. They ask you for your name and zip code, and if you're a registered voter. They verify that with vot
by iamelgringo 16y ago
Back and forth between you and votizen, is text messages. They ask you for your name and zip code, and if you're a registered voter. They verify that with voter registraion databases.
Then, if you are a registered voter, they tell you who your representative and senators are, and then they hand carry a print out of your support to the physical offices of those senators and representatives.
The last mile of the message delivery is in meat space, foot work.
- patio11 16y agoHaving a brother who worked in constituent services: being lobbied is not a new experience for Congresscritters. If you really want to do something, send them an actual letter on paper. If you don't send a letter on paper, it is highly likely that your support will be discounted as someone who is weakly attached to the issue. This is because, if you don't care enough to send a letter on paper, you are weakly attached to the issue. The very mild inconvenience relative to, e.g., "RT for great justice!!1" is used as a bozo filter. Startups aimed at reducing barriers to entry in petitioning Congresscritters should consider carefully whether removing a functional bozo filter is desirable to a group whose opinion of their products is super-critical. As an example of a previous technological innovation: a few groups discovered years ago that you can hook up a CGI script to a fax machine and then get anybody who submits a web form to fax a form letter about e.g. abortion to their representative. Congressional staff thought that was a very interesting development... for about ten minutes. After that, they were "measured by weight."
- shawnharmon 16y agoExcellent points.