https://boltsmag.org/seattle-democracy-vouchers-renewing/
"Seattle is poised to continue its experiment in public campaign financing.
Voters on Tuesday renewed the city’s democracy vouchers program, which provides
each adult Seattle resident with four $25 vouchers they can donate to local
candidates of their choice.
The ballot measure, which leads by 17 percentage points as of Friday evening,
will generate $4.5 million in property taxes a year to fund the program for the
next decade. Had it failed, the tax levy that voters approved in 2015 would
have expired, winding down the democracy vouchers.
Supporters celebrated the measure’s success, which comes eight years after
Seattle first implemented the program. Since then, studies have found that the
vouchers have strengthened the influence of everyday residents on local
politics and allowed a wider array of candidates to launch campaigns,
decreasing their reliance on big-money donors.
“Seattle showed the country what’s possible when we commit to making local
elections more inclusive and accountable,” said Cinthia Illan-Vazquez,
executive director of the Washington Bus, an organization that promotes civic
engagement among youth. “At a time when federal courts and extremist
politicians are attacking voting rights and blocking campaign finance reforms,
Seattle voters just sent a powerful message: We will protect our democracy and
keep building toward a system that truly represents all of us.”
Despite several attempts to export the idea, democracy vouchers remain unique
to Seattle. Voters in Oakland, California, approved a similar program in 2022
but city officials have not funded its implementation."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful and
Positive.News
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/how-100-per-voter-makes-seattles-elections-more-inclusive/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
