Democracy Vouchers: How bringing money into politics can drive money out of politics with author Tom Latkowski

SPECIAL BOOK EVENT! "Democracy Vouchers: How bringing money into politics can drive money out of politics" with author Tom Latkowski - September 9th @ 6 pm PT

Fix Democracy First welcomes author, campaign finance expert and policy advocate to discuss his new book, "Democracy Vouchers."

From city halls to the halls of Congress, big money dominates American politics. Despite widespread support for reform, even basic attempts to address the problem have been defeated. As a result, American politics has gotten stuck, with even popular reforms like raising the minimum wage, mitigating climate change, and preventing gun violence seeming impossible.

A bold new plan being piloted right now could provide a way forward. The idea is simple: The government gives everyone “democracy vouchers” that they can donate to candidates of their choice. If candidates opt-in, they can accept and redeem vouchers for public money to fund their campaign. In Democracy Vouchers, Tom Latkowski shares everything you need to know to start championing this transformative campaign finance system in your city and state.

Seattle is the first US jurisdiction to launch a democracy vouchers system. While big-dollar fundraising is still legal for candidates who opt-out of the voucher program, many problems that result from campaign finance have diminished in the last two elections. Donors are now more representative in terms of race, income, and age, and more evenly distributed throughout the city.

About the author:
Tom Latkowski is an expert on state and local campaign finance. As a policy organizer at the Democracy Policy Network, Latkowski authored a policy kit on city and state democracy voucher programs. An advocate for public financing, Latkowski is the cofounder of Los Angeles For Democracy Vouchers, an organization working to end mass exclusion from the campaign finance system in Los Angeles.

Donate $35 and receive your own copy of "Democracy Vouchers: How bringing money into politics can drive money out of politics".

Event Recording & Links:

"Democracy Vouchers" with author Tom Latkowski on September 9, 2021 - Recording & Chat Links:

• Speaker view recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/-HTmjQKkzU-C8KY46bcAxTb78-WzQgt46YoAL6uVonk6htd3SLZWX-oV6zlndUsqokCosgncsyDOOjEE.6ymC1dcgeA6eblze

• Gallery view recording:  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/4VYAkQNOk6A08xB59mpTWuRStGDMZEBqtS9v6uloYyCerxdWKtyHWaj5Oy3QM_ARdE-uArc3bdb5y7bV.oBpH2DFUemT9r7oe

• Chat file (text file will download to your computer):  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/NH9iOQw5W_WWghInb4gcoqakTxcgMvOq4zaDcEugxNci4mZyQSpHqWqFC1CKJ7d5N65rmVqJTACPGfQo.ZhLl76nSvHssEJmV

Links Shared & Resources on Public Funding/Democracy Vouchers:

• Fix Democracy First - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/

• "Democracy Vouchers: How bringing money into politics can drive money out of politics" by Tom Latkowski - https://www.democracyvouchers.org

• Democracy Policy Network - https://democracypolicy.network/

• Democracy Vouchers Policy Kit - https://democracypolicy.network/agenda/open-country/open-government/democracy-vouchers

• Los Angeles Democracy Vouchers - https://lademocracyvouchers.org/

• Seattle Democracy Voucher Program - https://www.seattle.gov/democracyvoucher/about-the-program

• Seattle’s Public Financing System Doubled Donor Participation in Second Run - https://readsludge.com/2020/12/22/seattles-democracy-vouchers-doubled-users-in-second-election/

• Everything you need to know about Democracy Vouchers - https://iexaminer.org/everything-you-need-to-know-about-democracy-vouchers/

• Seattle’s diverse mayoral race: Are Democracy Vouchers bringing equity? - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/democracy-vouchers-bringing-some-equity-to-mayoral-race-but-more-needs-to-be-done/

• Seattle Voters Increase Use of ‘Democracy Vouchers’ in Mayoral Contest - https://readsludge.com/2021/06/25/seattle-voters-increase-use-of-democracy-vouchers-in-mayoral-contest/
  
  
• Did Seattle’s Democracy Vouchers combat 'big money' in August's mayoral primary? - https://www.kuow.org/stories/did-seattle-s-democracy-vouchers-combat-big-money-in-the-august-mayoral-primary

• Democracy vouchers play crucial role as candidates compete for cash in Seattle mayoral race - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/democracy-vouchers-play-crucial-role-as-candidates-compete-for-cash-in-seattle-mayoral-race/

• Racial Justice Advocates Provide Essential Leadership in Pioneering Seattle Democracy Vouchers Victory - https://www.demos.org/research/racial-justice-advocates-provide-essential-leadership-pioneering-seattle-democracy