Write a Letter to the Editor

Action time: 10 to 20 min.

Find your local newspaper's guidelines for letters to the editor, then edit this template and submit accordingly. 

Short letter:

TO THE EDITOR:

 

I’m a resident of [town, district, etc] writing because I want our local political parties to [set gender targets when recruiting candidates for local elections OR introduce a local version of the Fair Representation Act OR vocally support ranked-choice voting etc].

 

I believe we can create a stronger democracy -- and that starts with the voices of women being heard. After all, x statistic [such as despite women making up more than half of the population, men make up 80 percent of Congress OR the way gender equality is going, we won’t achieve it in any of our lifetimes, etc]. Right now, women across the political spectrum are being left out of the system. With problems like [x issue, x issue, and x issue] plaguing our country, it’s time for some fresh faces in office.

 

Mechanisms like [refer back to specific ask at top of letter] offer promising answers to repairing our broken democracy. I urge all readers to take action by x [such as directing them to website where local petition is housed]. It’s time for name of state to act as a role model for the country by uplifting women’s voices across the state.

 

Sincerely,

 

[Your Name, Name of Town

Your Phone Number or Email Address]

 

Long letter:

TO THE EDITOR:

 

I’m a resident of [town, district, etc] writing because I want our local political parties to [set gender targets when recruiting candidates for local elections OR introduce a local version of the Fair Representation Act OR vocally support ranked-choice voting].

 

People like me from [town] normally care about things like [x local issue, x local issue, and x local issue] -- but with hyper-partisanship and gridlock at an all time high, it’s no mystery why many Americans say the most important problem facing the country is our government.

 

I believe we can create a stronger democracy -- and that starts with the voices of women being heard. After all, a truly representative democracy requires, well, representation. It will only serve to benefit us all, because when women are elected to office, they are more likely to collaborate across the aisle to get things done. Right now, women across the political spectrum are being left out of the system. It’s time to change that.

 

Before the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), fair access to jobs, transportation, schools, and churches was exclusive to able-bodied citizens. Instead of accepting that individuals with disabilities should work around the prejudiced system or be left out of it altogether, disability rights activists fought hard for legislative reform and changed the system itself with the ADA. Changing the rules to help people gain equality is nothing new. 

 

Today, Republican, Democratic, and third party women are being left out of politics -- not for a lack of skill or desire to be involved, but because our system isn’t being held accountable for its continued discrimination against them.

 

Mechanisms like [refer back to specific ask at top of letter] offer promising answers to repairing our broken democracy. I urge all readers to x [such as directing them to sign the petition supporting it at website where local petition is housed]. It’s time for name of state to act as a role model for the country, and strengthen our representative democracy by uplifting women’s voices across the state.

 

Sincerely,

 

[Your Name, Name of Town

Your Phone Number or Email Address]