In 2019, in Seattle’s previous district City Council elections, Kshama Sawant raised more than $586,000 on her path to victory in the general election. Other now-councilmembers raised around $200,000 in their successful campaigns. That election also attracted millions of dollars in outside spending by political action committees, including Amazon’s — though in the end, voters largely seemed to rebel against that level of outside corporate money.
Seattle has taken a few steps to level the playing field over the years. Its Democracy Voucher program gives every resident four $25 vouchers to donate to participating candidates. To redeem vouchers, candidates must first qualify by collecting a certain number of donations and
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