Seattle, Washington – Seattle is expanding its novel democracy vouchers program to its mayoral race for the first time this year.

Seattle voters each received four $25 vouchers to give to mayoral candidates in the 2021 election. They received the vouchers by post in February, and they can now choose to submit them online or by mail, the Seattle Times explained.

Followers of the 2020 presidential primary cycle may be familiar with Andrew Yang's similar "Democracy Dollars" proposal, which was inspired by the Seattle example.

To qualify for the voucher program, mayoral candidates must submit signatures and cash contributions from at least 600 eligible voters.

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They also have to agree to campaign finance restrictions, including a cap of $550 for individual donations. They can't spend more than $400,000 before the primary. If they advance to the general election, their campaigns may collect the money from any additional vouchers submitted.

In total, campaigns have already received $1.2 million in vouchers in 2021. The money to fund the program was generated from city property taxes.

Proponents say the program encourages greater interaction among candidates and constituents as well as limits big money in politics. Collecting vouchers from voters has also opened up job opportunities for residents in the community.

Though Seattle's voucher program does impose limits on direct campaign contributions, it remains to be seen how political action committees (PACs) – which can spend unlimited cash so long as they do not coordinate directly with any candidate – will impact the race.