Voters favoring I-122 to publicly fund Seattle campaigns
Nov 4, 2015, 5:30 AM | Updated: 6:56 am
The measure to establish public funding for Seattle campaigns received 60 percent approval as initial ballot counts were announced Tuesday night. (Richard D. Oxley/MyNorthwest)
(Richard D. Oxley/MyNorthwest)
The measure to establish public funding for Seattle campaigns received 60 percent approval as initial ballot counts were announced Tuesday night.
A total of 53,157 ballots were counted in favor of Initiative 122. A total of 34,956 voted against in early results.
Seattle’s Initiative 122 has many parts, but the aspect most have focused on is the public financing of city elections.
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The voluntary program for public financing would provide $100 in vouchers to voters (four $25 vouchers), who could then contribute those to the candidate of their choice. Candidates could volunteer to take part in the programs and be eligible for the vouchers. It would be funded through a property tax. The tax aims to raise $30,000,000 over 10 years for the public financing option.
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The initiative also proposes to limit campaign contributions from people and organizations receiving city contracts of $250,000 or more. It also limits contributions from lobbyists spending $5,000 or more. It limits lobbying by former city officials, and implements a 24-hour reporting requirement for electronic campaign contributions.
