Citizen Action War Room Field Kit

Step 1: Capture the issue in one sentence. Step 2: identify who has authority. Step 3: check the source record. Step 4: send one direct message or make one call. Step 5: record the answer or non-answer. Step 6: schedule the follow-up. The goal is a documented record that someone in power had to respond to, or visibly refused to.

Issue: A state official refuses to answer whether voter-roll cleanup is happening before the next election. Authority: secretary of state and county election board. Source record: state election calendar and public meeting agenda. Action: send direct request for policy, deadline, and responsible office. Follow-up: mark yellow until a specific written answer arrives.

Issue in one sentence: ____ | Official with authority: ____ | Source record checked: ____ | One action taken: ____ | Response received: ____ | Follow-up date: ____ | Rating today: Green / Yellow / Red / Gray.

If the action cannot be started in 15 minutes, shrink it. Do not research forever. Send one precise question, save one source document, log one official position, or share one clean link with one person who will actually read it.

Capture the original poll question, your answer, the current result, the first source you saw, the official source if available, the strongest unanswered question, and one sentence explaining why the issue matters locally.

Poll: Should a judge who blocks a national policy face removal? My answer: Yes. Current result: 82% Yes. Official source checked: court order docket. Unanswered question: who appointed the judge, what authority was cited, and what appeal path exists? Local angle: one federal ruling can change the rules for families and businesses in my state.

Poll/question: ____ | My answer: ____ | Current result: ____ | First source: ____ | Official source: ____ | Unanswered question: ____ | Local impact: ____ | Next responsible official: ____.

Do not write a paragraph about how mad you are. Write the facts you can verify, the authority you can identify, and the next answer you want on record.

For national issues, list your U.S. House member and two senators. For state issues, list your governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state senator, and state representative. For local issues, list county commissioners, sheriff, mayor, city council, school board, election office, and local newspaper editor.

Start with official government lookup pages: house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative, senate.gov/senators, your state legislature lookup, your county website, your city website, and your school district board page. Copy the official contact form, phone number, meeting calendar, and public-comment rules.

Name: ____ | Office: ____ | Issue authority: High / Medium / Low | Contact page: ____ | Phone: ____ | Meeting calendar: ____ | Staff name if known: ____ | Last contacted: ____ | Next follow-up: ____.

Before contacting someone, ask: can this office vote, sue, investigate, publish records, hold a hearing, enforce a rule, fund or defund something, or put the issue on an agenda? If yes, they belong on the power map.

Hello, my name is [NAME], I live in [CITY/STATE], and I am asking for the office position on [ISSUE]. What specific action is [OFFICIAL] taking this week: vote, bill, hearing, lawsuit, letter, investigation, or public statement? Please log my request and tell me where I can read the answer.

Subject: Please give voters a specific answer on [ISSUE]. Message: I live in [CITY/STATE]. I am asking whether [OFFICIAL] supports action on [ISSUE]. Please reply with the specific vote, bill number, hearing, lawsuit, letter, filing, agency directive, or public statement the office supports. A generic position statement does not answer the question.

My name is [NAME], and I live in [DISTRICT]. I am asking this board/body to answer one clear question: [QUESTION]. Please identify who has authority, what rule or policy is being used, what it costs taxpayers if relevant, and when the public can review the documents before any vote or decision.

I contacted your office on [DATE] about [ISSUE] and still do not have a direct answer. Please reply with the office position, the action being taken, and the official document, vote, hearing, lawsuit, filing, or statement voters can verify.

Use the framework, but add one local sentence. Offices discount identical copy-paste messages. They notice clear, specific, local questions from real people.

This is a request for public records related to [ISSUE], including emails, memos, contracts, invoices, meeting notices, policy documents, reports, calendars, and communications from [DATE RANGE] involving [OFFICES/PEOPLE]. Please provide electronic copies if available.

If this request is too broad, please identify the specific categories or custodians that create the burden and tell me how to narrow it while still obtaining records about [SPECIFIC DECISION OR POLICY].

Please inform me in advance if estimated fees will exceed $25. If a fee waiver or public-interest reduction is available, please treat this as a request for that waiver because the records concern public business and will help citizens understand government action.

If any portion is withheld, please cite the specific exemption, explain how it applies, and release all reasonably segregable non-exempt portions. Please also identify the appeal process and deadline.

Agency: ____ | Date sent: ____ | Request topic: ____ | Date range: ____ | Tracking number: ____ | Fee estimate: ____ | Due date: ____ | Status: Open / Narrowed / Fulfilled / Denied / Appealed.

Write the headline in one box and the official record in another. Compare nouns, verbs, dates, and numbers. The headline tells you the emotional frame. The record tells you what can be verified.

Check date, document, named source, direct quote, and missing timeline. If a story has no document, no named source, no direct quote, and no timeline, treat it as unverified until stronger sourcing appears.

Circle words that tell you how to feel: controversial, baseless, experts say, common sense, extremists, historic, sweeping, quietly, shocking, and bipartisan. Then rewrite the claim using only facts, dates, votes, orders, filings, and named people.

Headline claim: ____ | Source document/record: ____ | Named people: ____ | Dates: ____ | Numbers: ____ | What is omitted: ____ | My confidence: High / Medium / Low.

Verify the actual order, bill, vote, or statement. Ask who enforces it, what deadline comes next, and who might block it. Send a thank-you plus accountability note: Thank you for taking action on [ISSUE]. What is the next enforcement step and where can voters track progress?

Identify whether the next step is appeal, amendment, hearing, election, budget pressure, public records, or local action. Do not stop at outrage. Move immediately to the office with the next lever.

Do not amplify the weakest claim. Ask for the document, docket, bill text, agency memo, meeting agenda, or recorded vote. Share the question, not a rumor.

Mark the official yellow, send the no-response follow-up, and ask again in public language: Will you support [ACTION], oppose it, or stay silent? Voters deserve a specific answer.

Green means clear public position plus measurable action. Yellow means vague, silent, delayed, or talking without action. Red means publicly opposed or hiding behind process. Gray means not checked yet.

Give credit for votes, bills, co-sponsorships, filings, lawsuits, hearing requests, oversight letters, budget actions, public agenda items, and written office statements. Do not give full credit for a patriotic press release alone.

Official: ____ | Office: ____ | Issue: ____ | Position: ____ | Action taken: ____ | Evidence/link: ____ | Rating: Green / Yellow / Red / Gray | Follow-up date: ____ | Notes: ____.

Pick three officials. Update their color. Send one follow-up. Share one verified action or non-answer with someone who cares about the issue.

List federal, state, county, municipal, judges, school board, ballot measures, retention votes, sheriff, prosecutor, clerk, and election-administration offices. Organized groups win the races everyone else leaves blank.

Registration deadline: ____ | Mail-ballot request: ____ | Early voting starts: ____ | Early voting ends: ____ | Election Day: ____ | Cure deadline: ____ | Certification date: ____ | Recount/challenge deadline if available: ____.

For judges, check appointment history, public rulings, bar association notes, campaign site, endorsements, retention recommendations, and major issue areas. Do not skip judicial races because they feel obscure.

Who needs a registration check? ____ | Who needs a ride? ____ | Who needs ID documents? ____ | Who votes early? ____ | Who needs ballot-measure notes? ____.

This week I checked: ____ | I contacted: ____ | I asked: ____ | I received: ____ | I will follow up on: ____ | One link worth saving: ____ | One person I shared with: ____.

Date: ____ | Issue: ____ | Action taken: Call / Email / Comment / Records request / Meeting / Share | Official or office contacted: ____ | Response: ____ | Next step: ____ | Follow-up date: ____.

I contacted [OFFICE] today and asked for a specific answer on [ISSUE]. I am tracking whether they respond with an action, a dodge, or silence. If you care about this issue, ask your official the same direct question.

One message is easy to ignore. A saved record, a follow-up date, a public comment, a records request, and three other citizens asking the same specific question are much harder to wave away.

A one-page receipt of action: the issue, who was contacted, what was asked, what response or non-response came back, what source record was checked, and the next follow-up date. It turns a private action into a clear record.

Date: ____ | Issue: ____ | Source checked: ____ | Office contacted: ____ | Question asked: ____ | Response received: Answer / Dodge / Silence | Follow-up date: ____ | Next action: ____.

Today I asked [OFFICE] one specific question about [ISSUE]: [QUESTION]. Their response was: [ANSWER / DODGE / SILENCE]. I am following up on [DATE].

People are more likely to keep going when they can see the action they completed. The receipt also makes it easy to show others how to ask the same direct question without copying a script word for word.