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SGS - ACTION ITEM: (1) Discussion of a Democracy Voucher Program and a Public Matching Funds Program and, if Desired, (2) Provide Direction to Staff as Appropriate.
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Meeting Date: December 3, 2025
Contact Person/Dept.: Shelly Wolfberg/City Manager’s Office
Phone Number: (310) 253-6000
Fiscal Impact: Yes [ ] No [X] General Fund: Yes [ ] No [X]
Attachments: Yes [X] No [ ]
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - Standing Governance Subcommittee (11/25/2025)
Department Approval: John Nachbar, City Manager (11/25/2025) _____________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Standing Governance Subcommittee discuss Democracy Voucher Program and a Public Matching Funds Program and, if desired, (2) provide direction to staff as appropriate.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
At the October 8, 2025 Standing Governance Subcommittee Meeting, the Subcommittee discussed Democracy Vouchers. Staff has prepared answers to the Subcommittee’s following questions about this item:
1. Question: A Democracy Voucher program will have an impact, but if the City was to move forward with, e.g., the Seattle-type version, what would that look like in terms of an obligation from the City?
Answer: Staff, if directed by the City Council, would need to identify funding sources for a Democracy Voucher Program. One option would be for the City Council or a resident-initiated petition to bring forth a residential parcel levy to the voters during an election.
2. Question: Are there any estimates of cities with a similar population to Culver City that have a Democracy Voucher Program, including data around typical percentages of residents who opt-in to this kind of program?
Staff researched but did not find any publicly documented resident voter voucher programs in cities with a population under approximately 50,000 residents.
3. Question: How is Oakland standing up its Democracy Voucher program?
Answer: On November 8, 2022, Oakland voters approved ballot Measure W, the Oakland Fair Elections Act, creating a newly designed public campaign financing program that disperses $100 in Democracy Dollar vouchers to eligible Oakland residents who can then assign the Dollars to the candidate of their choice.
Because Oakland’s Fiscal Year 2025-2027 Adopted Budget does not provide funding for the Democracy Dollars vouchers or staffing and resources to administer the full Program or a pilot, distribution and use of Democracy Dollars vouchers for the 2026 election cycle must be postponed. However, the Oakland Public Ethics Commission is continuing to build out the technology, policy, and staffing infrastructure to successfully implement the Program in subsequent elections.
4. Question: Since there doesn’t seem to be many Democracy Voucher programs, what is the opt-in rate for cities that have Matching Programs?
Answer: The City of Los Angeles Public Matching Funds Program is a publicly funded initiative, in effect since 1993, to reduce the influence of large private contributions in municipal elections. The current Match Rate is 6:1 for participating candidates (i.e., $6 in public funds for every $1 contributed by eligible donors) for both primary and general elections. Staff was unable to locate available data and the opt-in rate for the City of Los Angeles Matching Funds Program.
5. Question: With the $25 amount, based on Culver City’s number of voters, what would be an approximate cost?
Answer: The City Clerk has provided the following information:
November 5, 2024 General Election
Total Registration: 28,553
Ballots Cast Total: 22,973
Votes cast: 80.46%
Based on this data:
22,973 x $25.00 = $574,325 - One $25.00 voucher per voter.
22,973 x $100.00 = $2,297,300 - Four $25.00 vouchers per voter.
November 8, 2022 General Election
Total Registration: 28,196
Ballots Cast Total: 17,727
Votes cast: 62.87%
17,727 x $25.00 = $443,175 - One $25.00 voucher per voter.
17,727 x $100.00 = $1,772,700 - Four $25.00 vouchers per voter.
6. Question: When Seattle implemented its Democracy Voucher program, was there a discussion of the funding source?
Answer: Seattle voters approved a property tax of $3 million per year in 2015 to fund the Democracy Voucher Program for 10 years. Properties affected include commercial, business, and residential properties.
7. Question: Did Seattle have a budget surplus or a deficit in which they were cutting programs to implement its Democracy Voucher program?
Answer: It’s important to note that the voter-approved property tax levy was specifically for the City’s Democracy Voucher Program. In 2017, the City of Seattle financial and economic indicators the City presented in the City’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports (ACFR) and Adopted Budgets were positive. At that time, revenues had exceeded expenses for the last ten years.
The City of Seattle’s 2019-2024 Budget Review reports that the City is facing a projected $240 million budget deficit beginning in 2025. The review examined why Seattle’s overall budget grew by 29% over the past five years and identified three main drivers: rising base budget costs, the creation or expansion of programs, and reliance on one-time revenues. Temporary funding sources-such as federal COVID-relief dollars-also inflated spending but have since expired or are set to expire, contributing to the projected shortfall.
8. Question: Would a Democracy Voucher Matching Program give the City the most value or benefit for the money or effort spent, or it might just be more cost effective considering fewer people donate to local candidates? How do those two programs compare and try to understand how would a city fund it, where the funding would come from, and what are those estimates?
Answer: A response to these questions would require staff to conduct further, in-depth modeling and analysis.
9. Question: What is Seattle’s average voter turnout, and what is the engagement with its Democracy Voucher Program?
Answer: According to the King County, Washington Unofficial Election Results, updated on November 11, 2025:
Registered Seattle Voters: 505,393
Ballots Counted: 277,860
54.98%
According to Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program 2024 Report, the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission received 36,653 vouchers representing 18,106 residents.
The Subcommittee may direct staff to make a recommendation to the full City Council to consider a Democracy Voucher Program. If approved by City Council, staff would return to the Subcommittee with a detailed proposal and implementation plan. Staff anticipates that it would require dedicated time to work on this effort, to perform a thorough analysis. Should the City Council direct further research and stakeholder engagement on the potential implementation of a Democracy Voucher Program, legal feasibility, administrative requirements, community interest, and cost could be considered.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
There is no fiscal impact to discuss this item or any recommendation by the Subcommittee. Depending on the nature of the Subcommittee’s recommendations and subsequent action by the City Council, there may be associated costs.
ATTACHMENT
2025-12-03_ATT_SGS City of Seattle’s Key Findings of the 2019-2024 Budget Review
MOTION
That the Standing Governance Subcommittee:
Discuss a Democracy Voucher Program and a Public Matching Funds Program and provide direction to staff as appropriate.