Facebook Users Can Chat with Elected Officials in App

Connect With Elected Officials Via Facebook

New town-hall app makes it super easy to contact reps

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images Mark Zuckerberg’s new Facebook app will even dial your representatives phone number for you. From all the raucous congressional town-hall meetings that we’ve seen lately, it’s clear that a lot of older Americans want elected officials to know their views. But if you can’t get to an event — or your representative or senator chooses to avoid angry voters by not showing up — Facebook is offering to help get in touch in other ways.

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The Town Hall application can be accessed by typing “town hall” into the search bar at the top of a Facebook page. Once you get there, type in your address and the application will show a list of all of your elected officials, from local council members to President Donald Trump. If you click the “contact” box, it provides the mailing address for each of their offices, their phone numbers, email addresses and the option of sending them via Facebook Messenger. If you use the mobile version of Town Hall on your smart phone, the app will dial the phone number for you. Town Hall also is designed to help people track what their representatives are doing by offering the option of following their Facebook pages. As former congressional aides told HowStuffWorks (howstuffworks.com) last year, writing and sending personalized letters by regular mail and calling politicians’ offices are particularly effective ways of reaching them. The best strategy is to pick a few important issues and contact officials regularly about them.

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