Internal Program Reports

2023 Biennial Report

This report summarizes the administration of the Democracy Voucher Program (DVP) in the 2023 election cycle.

In 2023, all City Council District candidates had the option of using the Democracy Voucher Program.

Key Accomplishments:

Increased Participation

  • All 14 General Election candidates used the Democracy Voucher Program to help fund their campaigns.
  • Currently, 10 of 11 City officials participated in the Program.

Outreach

  • Contracted with 15 community-based organizations, with a majority of funding to those serving lawful-permanent resident communities.
  • Through direct interactions, digital outreach, and materials distribution, organizations reached 64,045 residents.

Improved Access to Replacement Vouchers

  • In response to public concerns regarding paid voucher collection, the Commission established regulations stating that no person can be compensated for collection.
  • The Commission also made permanent a campaign’s ability to collect vouchers by posting a fillable form on a campaign website.

Download the complete 2023 Democracy Voucher Biennial Report.

2021 Biennial Report

This report summarizes the administration of the Democracy Voucher Program (DVP) in the 2021 election cycle.

In 2021, the offices eligible to use DVP funding were the mayor, the two city-wide council seats, and the city attorney.

Key Accomplishments:

Increased Participation

  • Seattle residents returned 184,747 Democracy Vouchers this election compared to the previous election with 147,128 Democracy Vouchers in 2019.
  • 32 candidates pledged to participate in the program and 11 candidates completed the qualifying process. 

Outreach

  • Staff and community-based organizations (CBOs) attended 279 outreach events and interacted with more than 40,927 residents.
  • The SEEC issued $225,000 in contracts to eight CBOs to conduct outreach in hard-to-reach communities.

Optimized Candidate Trainings and Qualifying Process

  • Staff created six short candidate training videos to get campaigns and candidates up to speed.
  • Staff created electronic versions of the "Candidate Pledge" and "Qualifying Contribution and Qualifying Signature" forms to increase access for users.

Download the complete 2021 Democracy Voucher Biennial Report.

2019 Biennial Report

The Democracy Voucher Program's biennial report includes a summary of the administrative processes from the second implementation of the Democracy Voucher Program (DVP).

In 2019, the seven city council district positions were eligible for DVP funding. 

Key Accomplishments: 

Increased resident and candidate participation

  • 38,092 residents returned more than 147,128 Democracy Vouchers, nearly doubling the 2017 participation rates.
  • 53 candidates pledged to participate in the program and 35 candidates completed the qualifying process.

Conducted outreach in Seattle's seven districts

  • Staff and community-based organizations (CBOs) attended 356 outreach events and interacted with more than 28,000 residents.
  • The SEEC managed $150,000 in contracts with 10 CBOs to conduct outreach in hard-to-reach communities.  

Launched online portal in 15 languages

  • 6,204 residents successfully assigned 24,105 vouchers using the Democracy Voucher Online Portal.

Download the complete 2019 Democracy Voucher Biennial Report.

2017 Biennial Report

In 2017, the races eligible for DVP funding included the two at-large city council positions and the city attorney's position.

Key Accomplishments:

  • Launched the program in under 10 months.
  • Provided all key program communications in 15 languages.
  • Attracted five of the six general election candidates to participate in the program.
  • Successfully tracked and processed 80,000 vouchers while fully accounting for $1.04 million in campaign distributions.
  • Increased the number of Seattle contributors by 300%

Download the complete 2017 Democracy Voucher Program Biennial Report.

SEEC Report

Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission Report

The SEEC publishes a report after each municipal election cycle summarizing the contributions raised.

Read the 2019 Seattle Election Report.

Find the SEEC's past elections reports in the archives.