Dozens of residents, advocacy groups and program officials urged the Governance, Accountability and Economic Development Committee on March 27 to put a renewal of Seattle’s democracy voucher program on the August 5 primary ballot.

The program’s administrators presented an updated budget proposal and usage data; council staff and the mayor’s office said the proposal would be submitted to King County by the May 2 filing deadline if the council votes to place it on the ballot.

The democracy voucher program, approved by Seattle voters in 2015 and administered by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, provides vouchers that participating residents can assign to qualifying local candidates. Supporters who addressed the committee—representing groups that included People Powered Elections, La Uníon (as stated in testimony), the Washington Bus, the League of Women Voters of Seattle‑King County, Sightline Institute and several community coalitions—said the vouchers have broadened participation and reduced the influence of large donors.

"My name is Hannah Lindell Smith. I am the coalition coordinator for people powered elections, and I'm here speaking in strong support of adding a renewal measure for the Seattle democracy voucher program to the August primary ballot," said Hannah Lindell Smith, identifying herself as coalition coordinator for People Powered Elections.

Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission Executive Director Wayne Barnett summarized the program's history and results. "Democracy vouchers were created by voters in 2015. They went into effect in 2017. It is the first program of its kind anywhere in the world," Barnett said. He presented maps and contributor counts the commission supplied showing a rise in contributors from fewer than 17,000 in 2013 to as many as 68,000 in 2021, along with evidence that a smaller share of campaign dollars now comes from outside the city.

Brian Goodnight of Council Central Staff and Renee Labeaux, program manager for the democracy voucher program, explained the levy proposal’s finances. Goodnight told the committee that the proposed levy is $4,500,000 per year for 10 years (total $45,000,000) and that the proposal equates to a 0.0142% tax rate. "The existing levy, on average, over the last 3 years, has cost the owner of a median value residential property about $8.80 a year. So the proposed renewal ... would be about $13.07 per year," Goodnight said. (The presentation identified a median assessed home value of $920,000 used in that estimate.)

Barnett explained the larger annual request compared with the current levy is driven by growth in expected administrative costs and a budgeting model that assumes higher candidate participation. He presented three funding scenarios and said a $4.5 million annual levy would keep the program solvent across a projected 10‑year horizon; lower levy amounts would exhaust the fund in the later years of the term.

Staff noted schedule next steps: the committee will consider the ordinance again at its April 10 meeting and, if approved by committee, the council would need to submit the measure to King County by May 2 for an August 5 election; property tax collection would begin January 1 following voter approval.

Several public commenters, including immigrant advocates and young supporters, framed the program as expanding civic participation. "This program allowed me to support a campaign and have a voice in local elections. It was empowering to know that my participation matters," Haley Woo, community engagement coordinator with the Asian Counseling and Referral Service, told the committee.

Committee members asked about underspend and roll‑over funds, outreach to underserved communities and how the commission budgets for candidate participation. Barnett and staff said prior years’ unspent funds roll over into the program fund, that outreach relies on community‑based organizations and multilingual materials, and that budgeting uses conservative assumptions about candidate participation and a 4.1% annual CPI adjustment.

No committee vote on the levy ordinance was recorded at this meeting. The chair scheduled a follow‑up committee meeting for April 10 to consider a possible vote to send the levy to the full council.

Votes at a glance

- No vote recorded on Council Bill 120957 (proposed 10‑year property tax levy to fund the democracy voucher program); committee discussion and staff presentations only. Key deadlines noted: King County filing deadline May 2; election date August 5; tax collection if approved begins January 1.

Context and next steps

The ordinance as presented would ask voters to authorize a property tax levy in excess of state levy limits (chapter 84.55 RCW) for up to 10 years to fund the democracy voucher program and related administration. Committee members and staff said the commission and mayor’s office would convene a task force in the first quarter after voter approval to consider any program changes and to pursue further outreach and evaluation.