Sussex County Republican Committee
Sussex GOP
Exercise your right to Free Speech
Open a Dialogue
First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
WRITE
A letter to the Editor
Three points for writing compelling Letters to the Editor:
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Focus on one topic. If you have two issues, write a second letter.
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Obey the newspaper word count limits. If your letter gets long, write a second letter.
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Be clear and concise. You don’t need to write like an academic or a policy expert.
Letter writing format
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Your name
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Address
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Email address
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Phone number (preferably cell phone)
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Subject Line: The shorter the better (six words max)
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Greeting (editor’s name good here)
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Letter (three to six paragraphs)
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Your signature
Note: The following talking points have been provided by one of Delaware's finest senators,
How to submit your letter
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Find your local newspaper's Letters to the Editor email submission procedure on their website.
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Be sure to check that you are obeying your newspaper's word limit, sometimes as low as 150-200 words.
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Write your letter. The shorter the letter, the better. The fewer words, the greater the readership. Editors often need shorter letters to finish composing a page.
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Paste your letter into the body of your email.
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Note that many newspapers will require that letter writers submit contact information with their letter. Phone numbers won't be published. This is just to verify your identity.
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Submit to local papers, not just the daily papers. You’ll have a better chance of getting published locally.
Send your letter
Partial Publication List
Note: The following talking points have been provided by one of Delaware's finest senators,
Your testimony can make the difference!
Committee chairs who are committed to certain bills (or against them) will try to minimize opportunities for their political opponents to testify. Don't let this dissuade you.
1. Useful tips:
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Keep a list of the bills you like or dislike. Frequently check for meeting dates and times.
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Prepare early. If the meetings are days or weeks away, this gives you time to prepare a powerful message.
2. Sign up to testify:
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Go to legis.delaware.gov,
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Go to Home - Delaware General Assembly.
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Look at left column named ‘What’s Happening’ for a list of committee meetings.
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Find the committee hearing you want (you may have to scroll down). Select Register for Meeting (or click on the meeting link),
Fill out the form and register to testify.
3. Make your testimony powerful.
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Identify yourself and reason for testifying.
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Have strong/memorable closing statement.
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Keep comments to under 2 minutes to avoid being cut off in mid sentence.
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Rehearse and time your testimony.
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Make sure any facts/statistics you use are easily verifiable Personal stories that evoke emotions are powerful.
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When telling stories in particular, make sure you stay within the time limit.