The challenge
A small, unrepresentative group of wealthy donors funded city campaigns and shaped who could run.
The case
In 2015 Seattle voters approved Initiative 122, which barred contributions from lobbyists and city contractors and created Democracy Vouchers, run by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission. From 2017, each voter received four $25 vouchers to give to qualifying candidates. Use grew from 20,727 residents in 2017 to 38,297 in 2019 and 48,071 in 2021, or 7.59% of Seattle's voting-age population. Sociologists Heerwig and McCabe found voucher users more representative than cash donors and broadly similar to voters in 2021. But a 2025 study in the American Political Science Review, tracking every registered voter from 2005 to 2021, found the people most mobilized were already over-represented: wealthier, whiter, older and more politically active.
Why the results were mixed
Vouchers clearly widened the donor pool and reduced reliance on big donors, but removing the cost of giving did not by itself bring in under-represented groups. Outreach to people who have never donated matters as much as the money.
Sources
- Heerwig, J. A. & McCabe, B. J. (2022). Broadening Donor Participation in Local Elections: Results from the Seattle Democracy Voucher Program in 2021. City of Seattle.
- Yorgason, C. (2025). Campaign Finance Vouchers Do Not Expand the Diversity of Donors: Evidence from Seattle. American Political Science Review 119(1).
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