Equal Rights Amendment North Carolina Alliance

It's Time to Write Women Into the Constitution!

Write a Letter

Letters are a time-honored advocacy tool

Write a letter in support of the ERA!Legislators recognize that one letter from a constituent represents many more who feel the same but didn’t take the time to sit down and write. Emails are better for communicating if time is an issue, say a bill will be coming up for a vote soon.

Letters to the Editor of your local paper get your message out to your community, and your representatives also pay attention to them as well.

1) Tips for writing to your representative

Here are some tips based on letter-writing recommendations from the ACLU:

Keep it brief: Letters should never be longer than one page, and should be limited to one issue.

Introduce yourself in the first paragraph – let your representative know you are a constituent and specify that you are writing about the Equal Rights Amendment. Identify it by its bill number: S.J. Res. 17.

Choose the three strongest points that will be most effective in persuading legislators to support your position and flesh them out.

Tell your elected official why this legislation matters in our community and state. If you have one, include a personal story that shows how this issue affects you and your family. Your personal experience will be what they remember most from your letter.

Bonus points: mention your relationship to the representative if one exists. Business, same college; maybe you’ve voted for them or contributed time or money to their campaign, etc.

Be courteous and to the point, but don’t be afraid to take a firm position.

Not sure who your representatives are?

There’s a guide to finding your representatives and their contact information on the Make a Call page.

2. Tips for writing a letter to the Editor

These tips are based on a guide shared by Member Organization, the League of Women Voters of Wake County.

Basic letter format:

  • Mention the article to which you’re responding. Include the name, date and author at the beginning of your letter. It probably won’t be an article about the ERA, so make use of other news stories that illustrate why we need the ERA – it may be breaking news, or ERA action elsewhere – but feel free to start the conversation!
  • State your claim or position.
  • Support your claim with facts, and if possible, a personal story.
  • End with a call to action. What do you want the reader to do next?

Tips for success:

  • Follow the publication’s instructions!
  • Keep it short: letters to the Editor are usually 150-250 words or less.
  • Put the most important information first, and least important last. Editors tend to cut from the bottom up.
  • Focus on one or two main points about the ERA.
  • Stay civil.
  • Proofread your letter for grammatical and spelling errors – several times. Ask a friend or two to read it over, too.
  • If applicable, include your representative’s name in your letter, and if it’s published, send a copy of your letter to them.

Please share your published letter to the Editor with us, too! You can email a copy of your letter, or a link to the published letter, to info@nc-era.org.