New report from Jennifer Heerwig and Brian McCabe. Executive Summary:

The Democracy Voucher program in Seattle completed its
third election in 2021. The 2021 cycle featured an open seat
mayoral race, two at-large city council contests, and the race
for city attorney. Six of the eight general elections candidates
funded their campaigns with democracy vouchers.
• More than 48,000 Seattle residents used their democracy
vouchers in 2021. As a percentage of the voting age
population, the participation rate reached a new high
of 7.59%.
• Participation in the program increased across all demographic
groups. Relative to 2017, some of the largest percentage gains
in participation were concentrated among people of color,
younger, and lower income residents.
• Overall, voucher users were similar to voters in the 2021
general elections in terms of age, income and race. We also
note a diversification of the cash donor pool with higher
shares of younger residents and people of color among cash
donors than among active voters and, in some cases, than
among voucher users.