Folks, you may or may not be aware of it, but dozens of members of Congress have begun blocking emails from consituents. Not spam -- real emails, from real constituents.
They've been employing a new technology using "logic puzzles." Basically a spam blocker on steroids. Problem is -- it's blocking real email from real constituents too. Like, in a big way. According to the Washington Post, on a recent day, only 19% of people who encountered the logic puzzles ended up completing their emails.
We've got a new coalition going at www.DontSilenceThePeople.org. Please check it out, and see the launch press release below for additional details. We're all for helping Congress with the overabundence of email -- but this system is waaaaaaaaay too ham-handed to make sense.
For Immediate Release:
June 28, 2006
Congress Begins Blocking Constituent Emails; New Coalition Launches Campaign to Stop Use of Logic Puzzle Web forms
Contacts:
Allyson Kapin, AKapin@dontsilencethepeople.org
John Hlinko, JHlinko@dontsilencethepeople.org
WASHINGTON - June 28, 2006 -- The DontSilenceThePeople.org Coalition today launched a campaign to defend the First Amendment rights of all Americans to communicate with their elected officials via postal letter, fax, and yes, even email. Headquartered at www.DontSilenceThePeople.org, the effort calls upon citizens to write their members of Congress, and urge them not to block constituent emails.
Several Congressional offices recently began deploying web forms that use "Logic Puzzles" to quiz ordinary citizens before they can email the Representative they elected into office. If constituents do not answer the questions correctly, the system blocks them from sending an email. Technologies like "Logic Puzzle" enable Congressional offices to block millions of real constituent messages from real people living in their district.
"Congress's new web forms are a direct attack on the American people's right to free speech and their freedom to petition," said Allyson Kapin, one of the Co-Founders of DontSilencethePeople.org Coalition. "Members of Congress who use Logic Puzzle web forms are making their constituents jump through analytical hoops every time they want to exercise their right to participate in the democratic process and send an email. The American people will not tolerate this."
According to a recent study by the Congressional Management Foundation, almost 80% of congressional staff surveyed believe the Internet has made it easier for citizens to become involved in public policy.
However, according to the Washington Post, "of the 8,262 times the logic puzzle was viewed in the House [on a recent day], only 1,568 people answered it and moved on to send a message -- a 19 percent success rate." (6/12/2006).
"In 2006, email is the most popular way for citizens to correspond with their elected Representatives, and yet certain members of Congress seem intent on building a bridge back to the 19th century," said John Hlinko, VP with Grassroots Enterprise, and head of the Stem Cell Political Action Coalition. "What's next, a Survivor style challenge to give your letter to the postman? A guard at the office door, asking you the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?"
Aside from the popularity of using email to correspond with Members of Congress, "communication by email has a positive effect on the environment. If Congress started receiving messages only via letter or fax, 24,000 trees would be cut down each year just to make the necessary paper. Congress should do its part to help cut down on paper use while being responsive to the people who put them in office," said Jared Seltzer of Center for a New American Dream.
Congress receives more than 200 million constituent emails per year, four times more emails than in 1995. While the DontSilenceThePeople.org Coalition understands Congress's desire to combat email overload, it believes that blocking real emails from real people is certainly not the way to do it.
About DontSilenceThePeople.org
Coalition partners of DontSilenceThePeople.org include: Center for a New American Dream, Oxfam America, American Association of University Women, Earthjustice, The Wilderness Society, Oceana, Drug Policy Alliance, OMB Watch, and more.
For more information please visit www.DontSilenceThePeople.org