The District’s leading voting rights advocacy organization launched an advertising campaign on Thursday to educate residents and tourists about the city’s plight.
The DC Vote advertisement, to be installed at public transit stops across the city, compares the voting rights of two city firefighters, one who lives in Maryland and another who resides in the District. The ad, the first in a series, reads: “Both will save your life. Only ONE has a vote in Congress.”
“We wanted an ad that hit home all across the country,” DC Vote Executive Director Ilir Zherka said. “We didn’t choose politicians or celebrities for a flashy ad campaign.”
The ad is financed by a $500,000 grant provided by the District government.
DC Vote plans to expand the campaign nationwide.
The drive has been criticized by at least one Republican member of Congress for perhaps stepping over the line into lobbying. The District’s federal budget appropriation includes a rider that prohibits lobbying for voting rights, though campaign organizers argue there is a difference between lobbying and educational advocacy.
The District has no vote in Congress, though a bill backed by the House Government Reform Committee would add two seats to that chamber, with one going to Utah and the other to the nation’s capital. However, the legislation still must win approval from the Judiciary Committee, the full House, the Senate and the president.
Advocacy financing
» Mayor Anthony Williams gave $1 million for voting rights advocacy
» $500,000 to DC Vote
» $200,000 to the League of Women Voters
» $300,000 to Our Nation’s Capital
