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Concern from across the political and nonprofit world A diverse group of organizations came together to send a letter to Congress on June 19th, asking that legislators stop using software that blocks constituent messages sent through organization websites. Since then, advocacy groups have formed a more formal coalition to negotiate a better way for Americans to communicate electronically with elected officials. If you are a nonprofit organization who uses the Internet to connect your members with lawmakers, you have an interest in the work of this coalition as we move forward. If you are a staff member or volunteer with authority to sign your organization on to a coalition, please sign up using the form on this page! Download the position statement. -----------------------------------------------
Join the list of supporting organizations! Even if your organization signed the letter, please fill in this quick form to say you want to stick with this coalition and move forward on the position stated in the letter to Congress. To take direct action as an individual, click here! We apologize, but the selected Survey is currently unavailable. Update: The coalition proposes a framework for an improved email system. Members of the Don't Block My Voice coalition are reaching out to legislators with a positive proposal and to learn more about the reasons that "logic puzzle" was adopted by some offices. We have learned much and continue to learn from our communications with legislative offices. Why did Representatives do it?
What is our position? Over the last five to ten years advocacy groups have developed techniques to deliver growing quantities of on-line communication and Congressional offices have simultaneously developed techniques to manage the growing tide of information. This has largely unfolded with little to no direct coordination, leading to some misunderstandings and the evolution of an ad-hoc and inconsistent system that does not well serve the goal we all share of efficient, thorough democratic communication between citizens and Congress. For many of us, the new "logic puzzle" system served as a strong reminder that this system has become needlessly complicated and adversarial. It is thus our intention as a coalition to use this opportunity to reach out to Congressional offices with a united commitment to permanently change the way on-line communications are delivered and received. By addressing concerns on both sides, we feel we can create a new consistent, cooperative model that respects both the citizen's voice and congressional offices' time and processes. We propose that the House and the Senate move towards a single, standardized protocol for handling electronic communication (a standard API) that meets the following basic criteria for the benefit of both Congress and our members:
As organizations committed to improved communication with Congress, we agree to the following basic protocol.
What can your organization do to help? Our greatest strength moving forward with Congressional leadership is the size and diversity of our coalition. Our organizations facilitate the vast majority of the communications sent by Americans to Congress—and that alone has helped move the process forward. But the protocol we develop with key offices must be adopted by many others. A strong and diverse coalition speaking with one voice will help promote adoption of those changes. Who is leading this coalition? To join the coalition, please sign on using the simple form on this page. To see the groups who have formalized their support as coalition members, click here. The groups listed below signed the original letter to Congress opposing the Logic Puzzle. |
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AFL-CIO |
Drug Reform Coordination Network |
National Taxpayers Union
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