Next year, only residents in Seattle’s District 5 will get Democracy Vouchers, after Seattle’s Elections and Ethics Commission this week voted to limit them for the special election to fill a vacancy left by former Councilmember Cathy Moore.
It’s the first time that Seattle has had only one district on the ballot since the launch of the city’s unique Democracy Voucher program, a campaign finance program that gives voters $100 in public money, in the form of $25 vouchers, to donate to candidates during elections.
Every election in the program’s history has been citywide, meaning every eligible voter in Seattle received vouchers and could give them to any candidates in any race.
Some argued that the city should stick to that practice next year. During Wednesday’s meeting, two former City Council candidates who unsuccessfully ran in 2023 — Ron Davis in District 4 and Nilu Jenks in District 5 — testified in favor of continuing to distribute vouchers citywide.
Davis worried that limiting vouchers to residents of District 5 would create “perverse outcomes” and do nothing to counter wealthy donors in other districts from pouring their own money into the race.
“We cross districts all the time in other elections,” Davis said. “This will substantially hamper people who rely on vouchers to run by taking six-sevenths of the population off the table.”
Jenks, political and partnerships director at FairVote Washington, had similar concerns. She worried it would tip the scales in favor of a “donor class” in other parts of Seattle.
Hannah Lindell-Smith, the coalition coordinator for People Powered Elections Washington, a group that advocated for the Democracy Vouchers levy renewal this year, argued against distributing vouchers citywide. “The people of District 5 should really be able to choose and fund the councilmember who will represent them,” she said.
Members of the Elections and Ethics Commission agreed, voting unanimously to limit voucher distribution to District 5. Zach Pekelis, chair of the Ethics and Elections Commission, said he sees the decision not as an ironclad precedent but as an experiment and a chance to fine-tune the program. Staff are planning to mail vouchers to District 5 residents on March 16, 2026.
Nobody has officially declared their candidacy for the special election yet, though Jenks, who also was on the shortlist to be appointed to Moore’s vacated seat, said she’s already aware of four people who intend to run. She demurred when asked if she was among them.
“No comment,” Jenks said.
