Jennifer Heerwig & Brian McCabe analysis.

Executive Summary

• After a successful inaugural implementation in 2017, the Democracy Voucher program provided public financing in seven districted City Council races in 2019.

Thirty-five candidates used the program in the primary, including twelve who went on to use the program in the general election.

• More than 38,000 Seattle residents participated in the Democracy Voucher program – nearly double the number of participants in 2017. The participation rate was nearly 7 percent of eligible residents.• Although participation increased across demographic groups, the largest gains were concentrated among white, higher-income and older residents, as well as those who vote regularly in elections.

• More than one-third of voucher users assigned their vouchers outside of their district of residence. Younger, lower-income and non-white voucher users were more likely to assign their vouchers outside of the district where they lived.

• Voucher users were not fully representative of the electorate, but they were more representative than cash donors who contributed at least $25.

• Across City Council districts, the coalition of voucher users generally contained a larger share of young, lower-income contributors than the coalition of cash donors.