SEATTLE — The primary election in Washington state is less than a month away and Seattle City Council candidates are busy campaigning.
One way they can fund their campaigns is through the city's Democracy Voucher Program.
Seattle voters approved the Democracy Voucher Program in 2015 and this is the second District City Council Election where the program is being used. It uses money from a $3 million per year property tax to allow Seattle residents to assign up to $100 to candidates of their choice.
“I think the purpose is to help people who don't have a lot of money contribute to candidates to give them a stake in who's on the ballot,” said Wayne Barnett, the executive director of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission.
So far this year, more than 16,000 people have submitted vouchers to support candidates. This is compared to around 17,000 people at this time during elections in 2019.
Barnett said they expect 10% of people to turn in their vouchers this time around.
“People are participating in levels they've never participated before,” said Barnett. “So, 10% of people contributing to a candidate is unheard of. I mean, it's generally around 1.5% without the voucher program.”
Candidates are capped at $93,750 in Democracy Voucher Contributions before the primary election. As of Friday morning, five candidates have hit the maximum threshold. Those candidates are:
- Rob Saka, District 1
- Tanya Woo, District 2
- Joy Hollingsworth, District 3
- Pete Hanning, District 6
- Andrew Lewis, District 7
People can still assign their vouchers to the candidates who have maxed out, the candidates just cannot use the new contributions until after the primary, if they move forward to the general election.
Barnett said about 90% of candidates in this year's race are taking part in the program. He said the goal of the program is to increase the number of candidates and to increase the number of people participating in elections.
“I think it shows that we're really committed to democracy,” said Barnett. “We really believe in democracy; we want everybody to have a say.”
If you lost the democracy vouchers you received in the mail, you can contact the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission and receive new ones. They can be submitted until November 30.