Just over a month ago, LA City Councilmembers introduced a motion to study the feasibility of establishing a democracy vouchers program in the City of Los Angeles, including options for full public financing. This was a huge step towards empowering more Angelenos to participate in our democracy—but now we need to urge City Council to schedule the motion for a hearing.

Sign our coalition letter to support the motion and demand a committee hearing

With big money donors pouring into our local elections, the voices of everyday Angelenos aren’t being heard—and many working class communities and communities of color are left out of our campaign finance system altogether, which requires disposable income to participate. This motion will research how a democracy vouchers program can expand our campaign financing system to empower more Angelenos to have a seat at the table, regardless of economic status—just as a democracy vouchers program has done in Seattle, where donors are now similar to voters in terms of age, income and race.

We're deeply thankful for Councilmember Raman's leadership spearheading this motion—and Councilmember Soto-Martinez and Councilmember Harris-Dawson for co-presenting. And special thanks to Councilmember Hernandez, Councilmember Park, and Councilmember Yaroslavsky for seconding the motion—as well as our friends at California Clean Money Campaign, Democracy Policy Network, LA Forward, League of Women Voters of Greater Los Angeles, former Councilmember Mike Bonin, Money Out Voters In, and Unrig LA for their sign-on support.

To sign the letter, please submit this form

Here’s the sign-on letter text: LINK

Here’s the motion text: LINK

Finally, if you’re with a neighborhood council, here’s a sample CIS statement. Please reach out if you’d like us to present formally at your NC and/or provide public comment to support at a meeting. If you have any questions on any of the above items, please contact mike@lademocracyvouchers.org.

Thank you for your continued support—and making your voices heard!