When Seattleites overwhelmingly voted to adopt the democracy voucher program in 2015—a system of publicly financed vouchers for residents to donate to local candidates—they became national leaders in campaign finance reform. Nearly ten years later, they have changed local elections in ways large and small, and Seattleites will decide their future when they vote whether to renew their funding in 2025.
Dr. Jennifer Heerwig has examined these changes in detail and is coauthor of the newly released book Democracy Vouchers and the Promise of Fairer Elections in Seattle. An associate professor of sociology at SUNY-Stony Brook, Heerwig is a political sociologist who studies American politics and campaign finance, specifically the political contributions of American corporate elites and the effects of new public financing initiatives on representation in local elections.
Sightline interviewed Dr. Heerwig about her findings and will host her in conversation with Sightline executive director Alan Durning at Town Hall Seattle on October 17, 2024. Tickets and more information are available here.
How did campaign finance research start for you?
I have to admit that my initial interest in campaign finance research was purely an academic one—I needed a dissertation topic! My research interests were in the rise of political polarization, and I thought the treasure trove of federal disclosure records might give us valuable information about how activists’ behavior had changed over time. One of my first dissertation papers documented the steady decline in “bipartisan donors” and speculated that this pattern could exacerbate the partisan extremism we see today. As I learned more about the influence of money in elections, I began to see that our campaign finance system is a root cause of so many other social, economic, and political problems of our time.
What sort of disparities stand out to you in US elections?
I think the statistic that has really transformed the way I think about money in politics is 0.51 percent. In 2016, less than 0.51 percent of the US population contributed over $200 to federal candidates. But that 0.51 percent gave about 70 percent of all contributions!
“In 2016, less than 0.51 percent of the US population contributed over $200 to federal candidates. But that 0.51 percent gave about 70 percent of all contributions!”
The incredible concentration of political money in America—even as platforms like ActBlue and WinRed continue to make it easier for average Americans to contribute small amounts—still baffles me. We know the folks who contribute these larger amounts tend to be much, much older, wealthier, and whiter, and they are predominantly men. These representational disparities hold at the national, state, and local levels. It’s really astounding.
When did you first learn about Seattle’s Democracy Vouchers?
I was familiar with the idea of democracy vouchers from the legal scholarship on public campaign finance programs. To be honest, I was initially skeptical that we would ever see this type of financing become a reality. The program is quite innovative in its design and a departure from older models of publicly financing elections.
When I heard Seattle was considering the program in 2015, my coauthor and I decided to lay the groundwork for an academic study of the program when it came online in 2017. We wrote a paper in 2016 that looked at the concentration of political donations in Seattle elections to prepare for the program’s first cycle in 2017. We’ve been following the program ever since!
What most surprised you in your analysis of their impact?
I’m looking forward to sharing my findings with folks at the Town Hall event on October 17, but here’s a sneak peek. One of the things that most stands out to me is the incredible explosion in participation that has taken place in Seattle. Seattle now has the highest contributor rate of any major city we looked at for our book, and I would venture that Seattle is the leader in local elections, period.
Second, I’ve been really struck by how quickly the program has eroded some of the representational disparities that I mentioned earlier. That is, we’re seeing that voucher users are younger, more racially diverse, and less affluent overall than the cash donors that financed Seattle elections before the program began. I was optimistic that the program would move the needle on these disparities, but I thought it might take many, many years. To see real progress in the space of four election cycles has been striking.
What gives you hope on campaign finance reform?
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of other municipalities that have started serious conversations about democracy vouchers for their local elections. In some cases, I think the program’s impact could be even greater than we’re seeing in Seattle. I’m excited to see what the future holds!
Read more in Dr. Heerwig’s new book and from Sightline:
- Seattle’s Democracy Vouchers Are Changing the Campaign Trail for Candidates and City Residents | Candidates rely on small donations from donors across the city.
- Seattle’s Democracy Vouchers: Already sparking a lively election season | Voucher contributions are soaring and voters are getting more diverse candidates to choose from.
- Interactive Map: Who Funds Seattle’s Political Candidates? [pre-Vouchers analysis] | Half of political contributions come from 0.3% of the city’s population.
Join Dr. Heerwig, in conversation with Sightline executive director Alan Durning, Thursday, October 17, at Town Hall Seattle. Tickets range from $0–35.
