The left spends a lot of time bemoaning the influence of money on politics. By that it means the money that individuals donate to support political campaigns. As opposed to the left's notorious preference for corruptly routing taxpayer money to political campaigns using measures such as municipal unions who elect the candidates they negotiate with and now... democracy vouchers.
Democracy vouchers are an Orwellian euphemism since there's nothing democratic about subverting democracy by funneling taxpayer money to non-voters to support left-wing candidates.
Under the democracy voucher program, every resident who is a registered voter has been mailed four $25 vouchers. Only candidates can redeem the vouchers for cash...
Not everyone is thrilled with the program. It’s funded by a property tax worth $30 million over 10 years, which the city calculates will cost the average homeowner $12 per year.
But it’s not about the amount of money for Mark Elster, a Seattle resident who along with another resident and help from the Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank, has sued to stop the program. Elster does not support any of the candidates running for office and feels his money is providing political speech to those with whom he vehemently disagrees.
About 500,000 registered voters were mailed vouchers, but many more people are eligible to receive them if they apply. Non-citizens who are in the country legally can’t vote, but they can get $100 worth of vouchers.
Jon Grant makes no apologies for seeking vouchers from everyone. The former director of the Tenants Union, who has been endorsed by the Democratic Socialist party, has collected vouchers from government-subsidized renters, new immigrants and some people living in illegal homeless camps. It’s pushed Grant into the fundraising lead and has allowed him to have six paid campaign staffers. Two years ago, when he ran for the same seat against the incumbent, he raised only $75,000 through November and he could pay only one person.
With three weeks to go before the primary, only 4 percent of the vouchers have been returned and cashed in by candidates who qualify. Any voucher money that goes unused this year will roll over to the next election cycle.
So for the most part the program is only lightly used, but it's a huge potential war chest for leftist candidates who want to run for office. It creates a ready made demographic for them at taxpayer expense. Taxpayer money is routed into banks of dependency to be cashed in by left-wing candidates.