The Democracy Award in Transparency and Accountability focuses on how an office integrates and respects the concepts of transparency and accountability in government. We would expect to see that an office demonstrates accountability through regular, meaningful, and robust communications to constituents and stakeholders that are designed to keep them informed of the Member's activities and actions in Congress.
The 2018 Democracy Award Finalists for Transparency and Accountability are:
Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)
Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) and her office make it easy to get information on all her activities – meetings, speeches, votes, and committee action – by sharing it on a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, YouTube, and Medium. The office uses Snapchat to issue a regular series called "Hear it from Heidi" where the Senator talks directly about what is happening on Capitol Hill. She also hosts a podcast (aptly titled "The Hotdish"), posted on iTunes, SoundCloud and her website, where she invites experts to discuss issues such as human trafficking and the threat from North Korea. Her legislative staff also conduct regular outreach to constituent advisory groups to exchange information on how policy issues will affect North Dakotans.
Representative Seth Moulton (D-MA-06)
Transparency and accountability are so embedded in the culture of Representative Seth Moulton's (D-MA-06) office that they are core values: "We believe that openness is a hallmark of good government." Examples of ways the office embodies this philosophy are: sharing detailed explanations of major votes on their website, Twitter, Medium and YouTube that the district staff use to answer constituent questions; a running dashboard of updates and information in the Washington office; and posting on the website the average wait time a constituent can expect for a response to a policy question. Representative Moulton also held town hall meetings in each of the 39 towns in his district in his first term.
Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21)
As the youngest member of Congress, Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) believes her constituents expect her to be transparent about her work on their behalf. She and her staff meet this demand by publishing all of her legislative votes, along with explanations, on FaceBook within 24 hours; posting her calendar on her website; holding numerous district events; and sharing the House schedule on the website so constituents can share their opinions on upcoming votes. Newly registered voters are sent information on the services the office provides.
Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA-01)
Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) works hard to keep his constituents informed about his work in Congress on their behalf. The office sends 10 proactive e-newsletters a week with a description of a policy issue, the Representative's position, and links to related news articles, agency websites, or other sources of information. They also use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and their website to keep constituents up-to-date on his activities and to offer helpful resources. Finally, they solicit feedback through semiannual satisfaction surveys and regular issue polls.
