“Lobbying congress” sounds really fancy and special, but what it just means is that you meet with members of congress and you ask them to support (or oppose) an issue (hopefully a bill) you care about. You explain why it’s important and often you’re educating them/their staff.
Anyone can lobby. You can call up your members of congress and senators and ask them for a meeting. There are no special requirements. You don’t have to be registered to vote, a certain age, or even a citizen. If you live in their district, they represent you. It’s their job.
When ppl “lobby congress” they’re usually talking to as many members of congress/senate as possible. That’s why we’re headed to DC, they’re all in 1 place. More mtg opportunities! I’ll be sharing w/ them how effective Vote by Mail is in AZ, b/c other states don’t have this!
There are paid lobbyists whose full time job is to know what each member cares about and what is important to them. They report back to the group that hired them, pushing that group’s issues. Paid lobbyists must be officially registered, but the rest of us are just constituents.
I was fortunate to go to DC one other time to lobby w/ the community org I co-founded, @Indivisible_TO I was so surprised by how much these didn’t know about the issues they were voting on. They don’t know what ppl don’t tell them. It’s so important to explain how it impacts you.
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