Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program, a form of publicly financed elections, is here to stay, so let’s make it easier for sensible candidates to qualifty.

During election years for Mayor, City Attorney, and City Council, all legal Seattle residents, citizens or not, are issued four $25 vouchers, paid for by taxes, that they can contribute to the candidate of their choice. The vouchers can be given directly to the candidate, mailed in, or assigned electronically via the official online portal. 

In order to cash the vouchers assigned to them, candidates must receive a specified number of $10 or greater qualifying donations from Seattle residents. Mayoral candidates need 600 qualifying donations, while City Attorney and City Council At-Large candidates need 400 donations, and City Council District candidates require 150 donations. 

In addition to the donations, they also need the same number of Statements of Support. While those can be solicited separately, it’s worth noting that debit and credit card donations count as Statements of Support, so please use a debit or credit card to support your candidate. 

Let’s get back to the number of donations required for a moment.

It’s truly tedious and time consuming to get those qualifying donations. So much so that it takes away from other up-front tasks that campaigns face at start up. I know because I’ve done it twice. It can drag on until the Primary
Election or beyond, effectively killing the potential of the campaign. 

Meanwhile, politically well-connected candidates can get those qualifying contributions with one email. Unless we only want to elect politically well-connected candidates, we need a better way to qualify those sensible incumbents, challengers and first-timers with one email.

That’s what The Qualifiers Club does and this is how it works…

We’ll send you an email with the call-to-action. You’ll respond immediately by making the $10 qualifying donation directly to the candidate’s campaign using your credit or debit card, so it also counts as a Statement of Support. They’ll receive their requisite qualifying 600, 400, or 150 Qualifying Donations and Statements of Support ASAP so they can invest in the essential infrastructure of a winning campaign early, when it matters most. 

Forwarding our call-to-action email to other like-minded Seattleites in your circle turbocharges the process even more.  

Please subscribe to The Qualifiers Club with the form below.

Together, we’ll help good candidates qualify quickly. 

Thank you. 

-Kate Martin, Director, The Bipartisan Wing