Give Us Some Credit: Creating More Viable Public Financing Programs Through Tax Credits and Democracy Vouchers

The influence of large financial contributions on local elections is a persistent issue in American politics. Over the decades, lawmakers have attempted to mitigate this issue through campaign finance regulations. Early on, these regulations took the form of prohibitive campaign finance laws such as expenditure limits. As American political ingenuity has advanced, however, so too have the Nation’s campaign finance laws.

Today, many localities have supplemented the traditional prohibitive campaign finance laws with enabling campaign finance programs—programs that focus on affirming positive donative conduct rather than restricting negative donative conduct. Seattle, Washington provides every eligible resident cash vouchers to give to the qualified candidates of their choosing. Implemented by referendum in 2015, the public initially received Seattle’s program with excitement. But controversy emerged early in its existence.

In 2017, several Seattle residents sued the city in state court, alleging the democracy voucher program violated their First Amendment rights. The residents’ issue with the program centered on its funding mechanism: a special tax increase on all property owners that they believed created an association between them and objectionable political speech. The Washington Supreme Court ultimately upheld the program, but the controversy continues. Now, as more cities and states consider creating their own democracy voucher programs, more challenges are on the horizon.