This is actually how it works. The (small) silver lining is that your friend doesn't have to be anyone particularly important, they just have to be a voter who

This is actually how it works. The (small) silver lining is that your friend doesn't have to be anyone particularly important, they just have to be a voter who lives in their district. I've had to go through Constituent Services a few times to get USG paperwork snarls untangled - doesn't matter if they're who I voted for or not.