Got a survey? Fill it out!

Some of us get these little mailers every session to ask us our opinions. In some states you can find them on your state government website with a little work. Fill them out!

States rights are important right now. The policies and regulations put in place by your state representatives impact you every day. High gas prices? Check out your county/state transportation taxes. Afterschool programs cut? Check out the local school budgets.


These surveys take a minute to fill, out and you can even do them online at times. You can fill it out while you're brushing your teeth or waiting for your coffee to brew.

I'm not going to say that the questions aren't loaded. They are pointing to legislation, and the representatives might be skewing the questions a bit to get support for what actions they want to take. They might be playing on fear or other emotions. But if you're keeping up with the local politics, you can see where they're leading you. If you don't know what they're getting at, put "no opinion" if you can, and call them out on it! Write in the comments that it wasn't clear. If you have an extra minute, send them a note through their online contact form and ask them for more information. The worst they can do is ignore you, but in the best case they know you're paying attention!

While this won't cause an immediate, major change in your community, this is a little way to stay engaged. If you stay engaged you'll clearly see where your representatives are in or out of line with your needs and interests. It's a little harder ignore when you're more aware of how they are representing you.