Contacting Legislators With Story Capture

In some states, reaching legislators directly can be a challenge. For officials who don’t have a direct line, constituents must call an operator who then directs them to the appropriate legislator, making patch-through campaigns difficult. Luckily, we continue to strategize and explore new ways to amplify voices in legislators' offices when patch-through calls aren’t enough.

Story Capture Calls are a great way to collect personal stories from these voices. We send out a simple live or automated call asking people to record a message with their story about your issue.

A 2012 study titled The Advocacy Gap found that even a dozen personal stories from constituents advocating for a "yes" vote on a bill can be significantly more impactful than thousands of identical emails on the same issue. Collecting real stories is powerful—but how do you ensure they make an impact?

Our clients have found innovative ways to use captured stories. They’ve included them in radio and online ads, posted them on websites, delivered them directly to lawmakers’ voicemail boxes, and leveraged them for digital persuasion campaigns on social media.

How Our Clients Use Story Capture Calls

Healthy Wyoming: Bringing Voices to Legislators

Healthy Wyoming—a coalition of business groups, community leaders, doctors, and nurses advocating for Medicaid expansion—needed a way to deliver the voices of Wyomingites to state legislators without patch-through calls. Using our Story Capture program, they reached out to 16,000 constituents and collected around 400 recorded messages in support of Medicaid expansion. Here’s how they made an impact:

• Transcribed and Delivered Testimonies: The recordings were transcribed into a 160-page testimony package, demonstrating community concern and delivered to legislators.

• Targeted Outreach: Individual messages were sorted by district and emailed to the appropriate legislators to ensure local voices reached their representatives.

• Visual Amplification: The most compelling messages were highlighted using a word bubble handout, prominently displaying powerful constituent voices to legislators.

  
  

While Medicaid expansion in Wyoming remains a work in progress, this campaign ensured that real Wyoming voices were heard.

Take a listen to some real Wyoming voices:

Other Success Stories

• Prosperity Michigan captured dozens of stories from individuals affected by high medical costs and transformed them into digital ads. These ads helped constituents hear familiar voices and reinforced why it’s essential for legislators to advocate for them.

• House Majority PAC launched a website, Voices From Your District, featuring nearly 600 recorded testimonies. This campaign held Republican legislators accountable for their votes on repealing the Affordable Care Act.

• Natural Resources Defense Council Pennsylvania combined Story Capture with live patch-through calls to pressure legislators into voting NO on legislation blocking the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. They executed:

  • Daytime Patch-Through Calls to connect constituents directly with legislators.

  • Evening Story Capture Calls to collect personal stories from concerned individuals.

  • Recorded Testimony Drops to legislators, filling up their voicemailboxes with personal stories and statements of support overnight.

The sheer volume of calls influenced the vote, with legislators even stating, “I will not vote for it if you stop calling.”

Want to Make an Impact?

If you’re looking for ways to cut through the noise, bring real constituent voices into legislative offices, and advance your cause, contact us today to learn how we can help.