Granted, democracy vouchers are still new — 2021 marks their third major cycle — and usage has increased dramatically since their introduction. But in the face of historically expensive elections and huge piles of cash from political action committees, Seattle may not have time for the first-of-its-kind program to catch on before it is even further eclipsed by the influence of large donors and outside spending.
The 2019 cycle was a warning sign: As the New York Times reported, independent groups — including PACs supported by Amazon and other large corporations — spent a whopping $4.1 million on the Seattle City Council elections, vastly overshadowing the $2.4 million the city
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