DC Vote (also known as the Coalition for D.C. Representation Education Fund) is an advocacy group that supports giving Washington, D.C. Congressional and Senatorial representation. DC Vote is a member of Declaration for American Democracy, a left-wing coalition under Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen Foundation. ¹

Though the goal of DC Vote is ostensibly nonpartisan, its funding and support comes from left-of-center groups aligned with the Democratic Party. Executive director Bo Shuff has said that the movement should pursue stronger ties with Democrats rather than pursue a bipartisan strategy. ² Shuff is also the former campaign manager for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D).

Washington D.C. Statehood

DC Vote’s flagship legislation is the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, which would grant statehood to Washington, D.C. ³

DC Vote is a member of the National Coalition for Statehood, which supports making Washington, D.C. a state. The coalition has dozens of left-wing members, including Planned Parenthood, the NAACP, Human Rights Campaign, the League of Conservation Voters, and Color of Change. ^{4 5}

DC Vote is a co-organizer of 51 for 51, a pro-statehood campaign, along with Neighbors for DC Statehood, DC for Democracy, Indivisible, Town Hall Project, NORML, and others. When the campaign was announced in 2019, it was criticized for not disclosing its funders despite promising “seven-figure” spending. Many of the campaign’s advertisements were purchased through the North Fund. ⁶

In 2018, DC Vote joined the League of Women Voters, Neighbors United for DC Statehood, and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs to file amicus briefs for the plaintiff in Castanon v. United States, a lawsuit against the U.S. government claiming that Washington, D.C.’s lack of statehood violated equal protection and due process. A district court ruled against the plaintiffs in March 2020. ⁷

Leadership

Bo Shuff

Bo Shuff has been the executive director of DC Vote since 2017 and served as director of advocacy and engagement for a year prior. He is also the owner of Top Shelf Consulting, a political consulting firm that has worked for Netroots Nation, Reform Immigration for America, and Illinois Senate candidate Jim Madigan (D-IL). ⁸

Previously, Shuff worked as the campaign director of Five Corners Strategy, campaign manager for Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), chief of staff for Progressive Congress, national field director of FieldWorks, field director for former Mayor Kevin Johnson (D-Sacramento), consultant for Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) 2008 presidential campaign, director of education and public policy at Equality Ohio, associate field director of the Human Rights Campaign, human resources director of the Iowa Democratic Party, and regional field director of the Florida Democratic Party. ⁹

In 2019, Shuff earned almost $140,000 in compensation from DC Vote. ¹⁰

Kelsye Adams

Program director Kelsye Adams is the former director of finance and operations and deputy finance director of former Governor Ralph Northam’s (D-VA) campaign. Early in her career, Adams served as a finance intern for the Democratic Party of Virginia. ¹¹

Funding

In 2019, DC Vote reported $800,639 in revenue. ¹²

DC Vote’s funders have included the England Family Foundation ¹³ the Fund for the Public Interest, ¹⁴ the Proteus Fund, ¹⁵ the Bauman Family Foundation ($20,000), ¹⁶ the Meyer Foundation ($100,000), ¹⁷ Verizon, the League of Women Voters, FieldWorks, and the Washington, D.C., Democratic Party. ¹⁸

1. “Our 250+ Member Organizations.” Declaration for American Democracy. Accessed January 31, 2023. https://dfadcoalition.org/.
2. Nirappol, Fenit. “D.C. Statehood: Should activists go bipartisan, or try a Democratic power grab?” The Washington Post. August 6, 2018. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:qSGkbV1awCcJ:https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-statehood-should-activists-go-bipartisan-or-try-a-democratic-power-grab/2018/08/06/dd4b45e2-9660-11e8-810c-5fa705927d54_story.html&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.
3. “Coalition.” DC Vote. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.dcvote.org/coalition/.
4. “National Coalition for Statehood.” DC Vote. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.dcvotearchive.org/coalition.
5. “Coalition.” DC Vote. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.dcvote.org/coalition/.
6. Kurzius, Rachel. “This New Campaign Plans To Spend ‘Seven Figures’ Pushing for D.C. Statehood. But It Won’t Disclose Its Funders.” DCist. May 23, 2019. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://dcist.com/story/19/05/23/this-new-campaign-plans-to-spend-seven-figures-pushing-for-d-c-statehood-but-it-wont-disclose-its-funders/.
7. “Castanon v. United States – Seeking Congressional Representation for D.C.” ACLU District of Columbia. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.acludc.org/en/cases/castanon-v-united-states-seeking-congressional-representation-dc.
8. “Bo Shuff.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/boshuff/details/experience/
9. “Bo Shuff.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/boshuff/details/experience/.
10. “DC Vote Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/522133517_201912_990_2021040217857708.pdf.
11. “Kelsye Adams.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsye-adams-ba1880126/.
12. “DC Vote Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed February 1, 2022. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/522133517_201912_990_2021040217857708.pdf.
13. “Nonprofit Partners.” England Family Foundation. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://englandfamilyfoundation.org/nonprofit-partners/.
14. “Highlighted Grants.” The Fund for the Public Interest. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://fundforthepublicinterest.org/cfa-more.html.
15. “DC Vote.” Proteus Fund. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.proteusfund.org/grant/dcvote/.
16. “DC Vote.” Bauman Foundation. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.baumanfoundation.org/grantee/65.
17. “Grants Database.” Meyer Foundation. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://meyerfoundation.org/our-grantmaking/.
18. “Events.” DC Vote. Accessed February 1, 2023. https://www.dcvote.org/event/dc-votes-the-ungala/.