“I am the Executive Director of DC Vote. Washingtonians do not have voting representation in Congress. That is a result of a fluke in our Constitutional system during the founding of our country. Our mission is to secure voting representation in Congress for DC residents and to secure full democracy as well. Right now, we are trying to get the DC Voting Rights Act through Congress, which will give DC residents a vote in the House. We’re also trying to protect the District’s gun laws.
“We work with Members of Congress to make sure that they have the right information as they are doing mark ups and hearings. We work with a coalition of 85 organizations to educate their members around the country and to get them to write letters to Congress and to President Obama. That is the thrust of what we do, but we also work with students and give lectures at schools and engage folks as much as we can, in any way we can.
“We work with national organizations like the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the NAACP, the National Urban League, and a number of Jewish, Unitarian, and Methodist organizations. A wide range of people support DC voting rights. The chief champion for Congress is the DC delegate Eleanor Holmes Nortan. We also have a collection of what we call unusual suspects, people like Joe Lieberman and Orrin Hatch and, of course, Barack Obama supports DC voting rights.
"The critical thing is to join us. We are as strong as our membership. Join us and demand a vote.”
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