Online Activism
Only an informed citizenry will continue to be a citizenry free from neglect or oppression.
If you don’t know how the system works, you can’t make the system work for you, and your community.
Resources
What our county, state and nation need, now more than ever, is an informed citizenry. Too many people have fallen for the cult of personality, because they just don’t have the facts, or because they are actively being misinformed by the media about what Republicans are doing to (but not for) our communities.
Here are a few useful websites, where you can get unbiased and official information about what’s really happening in Shawnee County. If we are to ever re-unite this country, let it start at the community level, where we can SEE positive changes happening before our very eyes, and in ways that affect us directly.
Who Represents You?
For you to get more involved in the political process, you’ll need to know who represents you, and start tracking your Congressional legislators’ voting activity. In Kansas, find your state legislators’ voting record at kslegislature.gov. This site will allow you to also:
- Search for bills by keywords or phrases
- Track a bill through the legislative process
- Listen to House and Senate sessions live
State Library Legislative Hotline
Residents can inquire about various topics, such as:
• Identifying their legislators
• Accessing legislator contact information
• Checking the status of specific bills
• Understanding the legislative process
• Locating historical information
• Other inquiries related to Kansas government
Kansans can connect with the Legislative Hotline by phone, chat, or email:
• Hotline: 1-800-432-3924 (toll-free)
• Online Chat: library.ks.gov/chat
• Email: infodesk@ks.gov
Live assistance is available Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Outside of these hours, messages left via voicemail or email are promptly returned on the next business day.
Information courtesy of the State Library of Kansas.
Hold Our Politicians Accountable
You can also watch all committees, House and Senate sessions on the KS Legislative Youtube channel. To keep tabs on how your tax dollars are being spent, visit KanView, an “online solution that brings better visibility, openness, and accessibility to state government financial activity for Kansas taxpayers.” KanView data is presented as revenues or expenditures by the Kansas Department of Administration.
Speak Out
Make sure you let your representatives know where you stand on issues. Your voice matters. Let them know you’re paying attention and have input.
Office of the Governor
Capitol, 300 SW 10th Ave., Ste. 241S
Topeka, KS 66612-1590
Toll Free: 877-KSWORKS (877-579-6757)
Local: 785-296-3232
For the Hearing Impaired: 800-766-3777
Constituent Services / Government Affairs
Capitol, 300 SW 10th Ave., Ste. 264W
Topeka, KS 66612-1590
Toll Free: 877-KSWORKS (877-579-6757)
Local: 785-368-8500
Visit portal.kansas.gov/government for links to state departments and elected officials, including the Attorney General
and Secretary of State. You can find out who donated money to your legislator through reports filed with the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission https://ethics.kansas.gov/.
Legislative Committees
From this page on the Kansas Legislature website you can find the hearing information for Bills of interest to you:
Online Activism
Here’s a collection of Online Tools that you may find very useful in expressing yourself with your Representatives and Senators.
Resistbot
Send a message to your members of Congress through your texting app. Resistbot is an artificially intelligent tool for sending fax messages to Washington. Simply text the word “RESIST” to 50409 and within minutes the bot will have identified your representatives. Type in the message you want faxed to your reps and let the bot do the rest.
Countable: Your Government Made Simple
Get clear, concise summaries of bills going through Congress, see what others think, then take action. Telling your reps how you feel is easier than ever with email and now video messages. Make your democracy more responsive! Available online or as an app.
5Calls.org
Turn your passive participation into active resistance. Facebook likes and Twitter retweets can’t create the change you want to see. Calling your Government on the phone can. Spend 5 minutes, make 5 calls. Calling is the most effective way to influence your representatives. 5 Calls does the research for each issue, determining which representatives are most influential for which topic, collecting phone numbers for those offices, and writing scripts that clearly articulate a progressive position. You just have to call.