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Why Phones Are Critical To Legislative Fights

When it comes to making real change in the legislature, nothing is more powerful than hearing from real people. Lawmakers often say they need to hear directly from their constituents to understand what really matters—and to justify their votes.

At Stones’ Phones, we specialize in giving people a voice and helping you turn that voice into real impacts on the issues you care about. Here’s how phones can be your secret weapon in a legislative fight.

Telephone Town Halls

Use Telephone Town Halls to reach thousands of people at once, educate them on critical issues, and mobilize them for action. Feature legislators or community leaders as speakers at your event to boost participation. Inviting elected officials to your Telephone Town Hall can serve as a rewarding platform to highlight the good work they’re doing for their constituents, or as a deterrent from passing harmful legislation.


Participants in a Telephone Town Hall can patch directly to their legislator, give actionable feedback, and answer poll questions using their telephone keypad. These features help organizations find donors to keep up the fight and supporters willing to go to a rally or volunteer. The responses are included in the data you receive the following day. Telephone Town Halls can be a powerful way to kick off a legislative battle or keep your supporters energized throughout the fight.


Just before Trump’s oil-friendly pick for EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, went before the Senate for confirmation, the Environmental Defense Fund held a Telephone Town Hall with their supporters. The event featured Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a staunch environmentalist, who discussed how the administration’s policies threatened the environment.


At the end of the call, participants were invited to press a button and be instantly transferred to their Senator’s office to voice their opposition to Pruitt. Over 1,000 people took immediate action, leaving messages for their lawmakers.


Live Patch Through Calls

Sometimes, the most effective way to sway a legislator is by connecting them directly with their constituents. That’s where Patch Through Calls come in.


In this process, we call voters, inform them about your issue, and ask if they’d like to be transferred directly to their legislator’s office to express their opinion. Staffers and even members of Congress have praised this approach for cutting through the noise and delivering their constituents’ concerns directly to them.


For example, when California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed a budget cut that would slash nearly $12 billion from public schools, the California Teachers Association knew they had to act fast. They partnered with us to call over 50,000 members and patch nearly 5,000 of them through to legislative offices and the Governor’s office. The result? A wave of constituent voices that helped prevent the budget cuts from hurting K-12 schools and community colleges.


Automated Patch Through Calls

If you need to quickly mobilize a large group of supporters, Automated Patch Through Calls are an excellent tool. These pre-recorded calls allow you to reach people on landline phones and are a cost-effective way to get the message out to your base.

The Kentucky Education Association used Automated Patch Calls to mobilize members against a bill that would divert public school funds to private school vouchers. In just one day, we patched over 160 members directly to their legislators, ensuring they heard loud and clear that public education must be protected.


Though the bill did end up going before voters as a ballot measure, it did so with outspoken opposition from several members of the legislature. The measure failed at the ballot box


Texting

The key to successful outreach is consistent pressure across multiple mediums. In addition to Live Calls, sending Texts to your audience is a great way to spur them to action.

But we don’t just send plain texts—we go the extra mile with text messages that include graphics, videos, and direct links to actions like calling a legislator, signing a petition, or recording a message.


The Center for New Liberalism used texting to rally support against exploitative event ticketing practices like excessive fees and price gouging. They sent out messages to thousands of people with a link to sign the Ticket Buyer Bill of Rights petition.

By combining texting with a broader campaign across other platforms, they created enough pressure for Congress to pass The TICKET Act (HR 3950), which protects consumers from unfair ticketing practices.


Take Your Campaign to the Next Level

If you’re not using phones to power your legislative campaigns, you’re not doing enough to win. At Stones’ Phones, we help you take your campaign to the next level. Reach out today to start using phones to win your legislative battles!

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