Study: More Americans Contacting Congress Online
Forty-four percent of all voting-age Americans contacted Congress in the last five years but the majority of those citizens do not believe lawmakers are interested in what they have to say, a new report by the Congressional Management Foundation finds. The paper is a follow up to survey results released by the watchdog group three years ago, which gauged attitudes of congressional staffers about the climbing volume of constituent mail.
At the time, 73 percent of staffers said their offices spent more time on constituent communications than two years before and about half said they had to reallocate resources to cope with the surge. The earlier study also showed that the Internet was thought to have a positive effect on the discourse between citizens and Congress. It also indicated that personalized messages have more influence on members' decision-making process than do identical form messages.
According to the new poll, two times as many citizens who contacted Congress did so via the Internet (40 percent) rather than by postal mail or the telephone -- but 62 percent of Internet users who sent a message did not feel like offices cared about their opinions. Additionally, 46 percent were dissatisfied with the responses they received from Hill offices.
Two times as many citizens who contacted Congress did so via the Internet (40 percent) rather than by postal mail or the telephone but 62 percent of Internet users who sent a message did not feel like offices cared about their opinions. Additionally, 46 percent were dissatisfied with the responses they received, the foundation reported. Among Internet users who sent a message to Congress, 74 percent said they believed advocacy campaigns are good for democracy.
"The Internet has tremendous potential and power to enhance democratic dialogue. The challenge is for both Congress and the public to harness it effectively,” CMF Executive Director Beverly Bell said. However, the constituent expectation for on-demand, online information can place a strain on many congressional offices already struggling with resource limitations and communications strategies designed for "old media," Bell noted.
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