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DC Vote's leadership remains hopeful that Congress will pass the DC Voting Rights Act in 2008. To do so, they’re stepping up their advocacy efforts. This article showcases DC Vote's innovative and determined advocacy efforts as a source of potential inspiration to nonprofits everywhere that serve the under-represented and the marginalized.

DC Vote's goal is straightforward — gain full congressional representation for Washington, D.C. residents. Residents of our nation's capital (nearly 600,000 strong) currently have no voting rights in the U.S. Congress. For DC Vote, achieving that seemingly straightforward goal has remained a challenge, as the political status quo has been difficult to overcome. But DC Vote, a 501(c)(3) organization, has made significant headway in recent years by employing a variety of effective and creative advocacy tactics. Last fall, advocates of the D.C. Voting Rights Act (S. 1257) fell shy of overcoming a Senate filibuster by only three votes.

Building Public Awareness
DC Vote was founded in 1998. The first task DC Vote undertook was to educate D.C. residents on how lack of voting rights affects them. Many residents, according to DC Vote Communications Coordinator Kevin Kiger, were not even aware that they did not have full representation in Congress. In their public education efforts, past and present, DC Vote has focused on one message: Washingtonians' lack of congressional voting rights impacts every aspect of life. Without voting rights, residents cannot hold policymakers fully accountable for decisions regarding residents' schools, health care access, regulation of local businesses, or any of the myriad of ways in which public policy decisions affect residents.

Although DC Vote has made significant strides in increasing awareness of the issue in the D.C. region, public education remains central to DC Vote's activities. Recently, DC Vote launched a public awareness campaign targeted at Americans outside the Washington, D.C. region living in states where Senators are filibustering the DC Voting Rights Act. In January and February, DC Vote staff traveled to Oregon and Montana to engage residents on the DC vote issue. Montana's Max Baucus is the only Democratic Senator who filibustered the voting rights bill. In Oregon, DC Vote staff met with community groups, newspapers, and college students. DC Vote reports that the response from non-DC residents was very enthusiastic. Kiger believes that once Americans know about DC's plight, they will push their Senators to do the right thing and support a change in the law.

Fostering Coalitions and Partnerships
From the beginning, DC Vote realized they could not achieve their goals on their own. Consequently, they have worked hard to recruit and involve a diverse coalition of fellow nonprofits to support their cause. The nonprofits, both national and local organizations, represent a broad range of issues, including labor, LGBT, environment, civil rights. The DC Vote coalition also includes several churches and faith-based organizations.

Coalition partners support DC Vote by educating and mobilizing their own constituents and membership base on the issue. Coalition partners help mobilize people for rallies and other events. The coalition efforts helped turn out over 5,000 people to a rally on a cold and rainy day last April for the DC Voting Rights March. Additionally, 50 organizations served as official sponsors of the event, including local churches, nonprofits, and companies.

When coalition partners have questions about what they can do in terms of advocacy, DC Vote has turned to the Alliance for Justice for guidance. Alliance for Justice promotes nonprofit advocacy by offering training and technical assistance to nonprofits. Kiger recommends Alliance for Justice as a great legal resource, saying, "Their materials and resources have been invaluable in assuring coalition partners that they are well-within the law when conducting lobbying and grassroots activities."

Online Advocacy
DC Vote has also been a ground-breaker in its use of the Internet and social-networking sites for advocacy. In 2004, DC Vote was recognized by the Politics Online Conference for its local Internet campaign. DC Vote maintains updated profiles on Facebook, myspace, and YouTube!. Kiger says it’s an effective way to get the word out about events. At a recent event, nearly a third of the 100 attendees had RSVP'd through DC Vote’s online myspace profile.

DC Vote also recently created a new website and social networking tools for its youth members — Students for DC Vote. On the website, students can learn how they can get involved and support the DC Vote cause. The suggested activities are helpfully categorized by how much time the activity requires, ranging from ten minutes to one week. To make sure the website reflects the needs of students, DC Vote actively solicits feedback from students at events such as thie recent Winter Kick-Off in January.

Creative Advocacy
DC Vote has also developed a reputation for its creative and fun efforts to engage the public and policymakers on their issue. In December 2007, DC Vote held a tea party on the Potomac River in Washington to commemorate the Boston Tea Party, an event at which Bostonians protested their lack of representation over two hundred years ago. Before the event, DC Vote Executive Director Ilir Zherka explained the motivation behind it, "The DC Vote Tea Party will highlight the fact that our federal government continues to deny voting rights to Americans paying the second highest per capita federal income taxes in the country." The party included a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party and participants received colonial-style jackets with the logoEnd Taxation Without Representation.

DC Vote has also developed an extensive collection of merchandise. The purpose of their Taxation Without Representation bumper stickers, T-shirts, bags, and hats is to get citizens not only be own the issue, but also to wear it!

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