I was in fifth grade when Seattle started the Democracy Voucher Program. Last year, I received my first vouchers in the mail: four $25 coupons that I could donate to a local candidate I cared about. As a 19-year-old kid from a historically disenfranchised group, vouchers have shown me the reality of what is possible when we invest in our democracy.
In the August 5 primary, Seattle will vote on whether to renew the democracy voucher program through Proposition 1. I was driven to advocate for this proposition because of my experience politically organizing since I was 15. With so much of electoral politics depending on turnout, testifying at city council meetings, and having money, young working people have been dealt a bad hand when it comes to having an impact. Voting is only half of the picture in elections. There’s so much more that goes into running a campaign and building leaders from the most impacted communities. I realized that we needed to find ways beyond “get out the vote” to push the needle on the issues impacted by local representatives.
Without the Democracy Voucher Program, many other communities in King County can’t even muster the funds to make elections competitive. In places surrounding Seattle, like Tukwila or Renton, incumbents often run uncontested, and some have not been challenged for four to five elections. After democracy vouchers were introduced in Seattle, the number of candidates able to run increased by 86%, and the candidate pool immediately diversified.
Our elections becoming competitive is a good sign for our democracy; no one person should immediately win as the only choice, especially when candidates used to be from more powerful, wealthier neighborhoods. The International District (ID) knows what it has felt like to be failed by our democracy, and many in our community felt unrepresented for a long time. Now, wealthier candidates must compete with candidates from neighborhoods like the ID, and underserved communities can raise up a leader from our own.
Not only has the candidate pool diversified and grown, but so has the donor pool. The people who fund our elections are now much more reflective of the neighborhoods people are running to represent. Youth in our community love the program, as it has given us the opportunity to become first time donors. Young residents in the international community see it as an opportunity to have a voice beyond their vote, and a way to challenge narratives that are stronger within the usual “donor” demographic.
Because every Seattle resident can now be a donor, candidates also have an incentive to engage with our neighborhoods. When I would go to work in the ID during election season, I would see candidates tabling at the stations, walking around our festivals, and hosting town halls. Public forums have exploded in the ID, not just because the voucher program requires candidates to engage with their districts, but because the people power in the neighborhood has made it a valuable place to campaign. A decade ago, candidates didn’t see our neighborhoods worth investing time in, but now we see their campaigns making every effort to hear from our residents.
At the end of the day, money is the biggest barrier to true representation for communities that have been oppressed. As people without citizenship and mixed status families are under attack, it is important for us to elect leaders who will defend them. While they pay taxes, run businesses, and work in the ID, green card holders are deeply impacted by policies decided by our city government. Democracy vouchers are one of the few ways that green card holders can have a political impact just like any other resident.
In a time when the federal government is going rogue, local government is one of our last lines of defense. One thing is certain: the people who profit from our silence want us to believe our voice doesn’t matter. We need local leaders to serve and protect us, not the wealthy. We need to push the needle and elect champions for us and our stories.
Seattle has been proving for the last 10 years that we can lead by example, not just for our region, but for our nation. By using our vouchers, by sharing the in-language information with our elders, and by voting yes on Proposition 1 in the August 5 primary, we can send a powerful message of hope for our democracy.
Bailey Medilo is an organizer with Yes on Prop 1 Seattle and the Washington Bus, and a statewide movement-building organization that increases political access for young people across Washington State. Medilo is presently on the board of the International Examiner.
