DC Vote

DC Vote takes our work for DC voting rights to the max each and every day - and we've accomplished important victories! Today, please Give to the Max by making a generous contribution to DC Vote. On this special day, your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, doubling your impact on the movement for DC democracy.

Your contribution will help DC Vote keep Congress and the President on notice that District residents will stand up for their right to self-determination and democracy. Our aggressive 2011 Demand Democracy Campaign has led to concrete victories and given our fight unprecedented exposure:

• Our allies in Congress stood up for DC Home Rule when dozens of members of the House signed a letter to Senate leaders, asking them to oppose the DC abortion ban.
• The White House specifically and repeatedly stated their support for DC voting rights and Home Rule, through an official statement on the 2012 federal budget and in an interview with NBC4.
• Conservatives in Congress voted against extreme gun legislation for Washington, DC over concerns that DC Vote and our coalition would rally our allies to oppose it. Our success highlighting congressional interference this year made it clear to gun rights advocates that they could not move anti-DC democracy bills without consequences.
• Millions of people across the world learned about the denial of democracy in DC through the hundreds of media articles our protests generated this year.

 

None of this would have been possible without support from thousands of people: activists who attended rallies and advocacy days, the 72 protestors who dramatized our fight by engaging in civil disobedience, and the hundreds of donors who helped keep DC Vote strong.

But we can't stop now - and believe me, we won't! The congressional attacks will continue, and DC Vote will keep fighting back through advocacy, mobilization and education. Our mission takes hard work and dedication, and it requires resources. We want to thank the DC Federation of Civic Associations for recently recognizing our work with the George H. Richardson Award for Conspicuous Leadership in Civil Rights.

Support an award-winning, hard-working organization by giving to the max today! If you do, the Cafritz Foundation will double your gift!

About Us

More than half a million residents of the District of Columbia pay full federal taxes, fight and die in wars and serve on juries, but are denied voting representation in Congress.

While DC residents have an elected mayor and city council, all locally passed laws and the local budget must be sent to Congress for review and approval. In many cases, Congress overrules decisions of the local government. DC Vote is working to end this injustice and to protect DC's local democracy.

As the recognized leader and go-to source of information on the DC voting rights movement, we:

• advocate for enactment of critical DC voting rights legislation
• educate Americans across the nation about DC's status
• work to prevent congressional interference in DC's local democracy
• organize supporters to contact Congress through call-in days, letter-writing campaigns and face-to-face advocacy
• engage coalition partners, supporters and pro bono lobbyists to educate Congress
• serve as a resource to elected officials, the media and public

 

Our efforts led to the historic Senate passage of the DC Voting Rights Act (H.R.157/S.160) on February 26, 2009. We continue to research and explore legislation to provide full local democracy and to make Washington, DC the 51st state in the union. With voting representation equal to that of other Americans, DC will be better empowered to end congressional interference in local matters, have an equal vote on important national issues and tackle local problems with more resources and greater freedom.

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