How to Attend a Town Hall
What to Do and What Not to Do
Town Halls style meetings are a format for politicians, both on the local and national levels, to meet with their constituents. This type of event provides you, the constituent, with an opportunity to voice your opinion and ask questions of your representative – whether they are Democrat or Republicans - while they are back home in your district.
Thanks to modern advances, there is more than one way to attend a Town Hall! Town Hall meetings may be offered virtually or through a conference call. But if possible, we recommend attending a Town Hall in-person. This allows you as the constituent to personally meet your representative, but also to record your representative’s reaction to your question. This is important! Your main goal of attending a Town Hall is to get your representative’s response on the record.
Next, locate a Town Hall that is in your area and find an upcoming Town Hall in your voting district. If it is a virtually held event, you may have to RSVP in order to attend, so make sure to check your calendar in advance of the event. Write a sticky note reminder or set an alert on your phone so that you remember to attend the meeting. If the meeting is held in person, make sure to arrive early to ensure you get a good seat.
When attending a Town Hall in-person, invite like-minded friends who share the same point of view as you and sit in different parts of the room. Have well thought out questions prepared in advance of the meeting and be prepared to rephrase the question if your representative dodges your initial question. Town Halls can get rowdy, but no matter how your representative response, ALWAYS be respectful and polite regardless of how those around react.
One last tip – make sure you are taking pictures and recording your question and the representative’s answer. As we mentioned earlier, this should be your number one goal when attending a Town Hall. Share your experience and your videos with us at activist@actforamerica.org! We love to hear from our activists and are encouraged when we see you participating in local events.
We hope this articles has been helpful and informative! Remember, here at ACT for America, we want you to be well equipped with all the tools you need to be a successful activist! Effective grassroots activism is simple and easy when you have the right information. Thank you for all you do to help keep us safe!