Yvonne Socolar, 24, writes that she was part of the young voter apathy problem—until this years Honest Elections initiative got her excited about voting again.
Yvonne Socolar, 24, writes that she was one of many young, apathetic voters—until this year's "Honest Elections" initiative got her excited about voting again. Courtesy Fuse Washington

As a person in her mid-twenties, I am very familiar with the problem of voter apathy. For a long time, I was the problem. My age group is notoriously hard to find at the polls, and I joined them in sitting out Election Day after a few cycles of novelty voting. After spending a few years on the sidelines, Honest Elections inspired me to get back involved.

In the US, it’s become an accepted fact that the people who show up at the polls don’t represent the demographics of eligible voters. Neither do elected officials—in demographics or policy choices. It’s easy to pin the problem on apathetic voters, to say that people who don’t cast ballots just don’t care. But we do care, we just need to believe that the candidates do as well.

My political disengagement coincided pretty well with my move to Seattle; a city where even local elections often cost in excess of a quarter of a million dollars. In terms of how we fund elections, Seattle’s in a pretty dismal spot. In the 2013 election, 0.3% of the city’s adults accounted for over half of the donations made to political candidates.

Voters like me believe that a wealthy, corporate-backed, donor base controls who is heard in government and who is not.

Turns out we are right.

The top three contributors to Seattle candidate campaigns this election are big corporations and their employees, including Microsoft, Vulcan, and Goodman Real Estate. That last name sounds familiar because they were involved in the recent Triad Scandal in which wealthy developers were accused of trying to bribe and intimidate a Seattle City Council candidate.

Worse, look at the “dark” money in this fall’s election. Big business interests have spent nearly half a million on independent expenditures for (or against) people running for city council. The Chamber of Commerce gave $318,000. Real estate developers hired lobbyists to give $60,000. The Washington Restaurant Association (McDonalds and the other folks who fought against raising the minimum wage) have dumped $25,000 into our election.

It’s no secret that money talks in politics, and in the midst of that monetary din, I simply can’t compete. Voters like me will not be heard.

The more money that gets dumped into elections, the less diverse candidates get and the less representative their political views become. And if our democracy is not representative, why should I believe my voice is heard? Why does it matter if I vote?

Soon after I moved here, Seattle tackled the minimum wage. Despite being underfunded and opposed by big money interests, the city listened to what the people were demanding.

The grassroots movement didn’t stop in Western Washington, but rippled out nationally and internationally with a force that continues to build.

That success got me thinking: could it be possible to make this sort of grassroots political engagement the rule instead of the exception?

This November, I-122, which has been nicknamed Honest Elections, will be on every Seattleite’s ballot. The initiative would limit campaign contributions and tighten regulations around who can give—especially big money interests and corporations seeking city contracts. Honest Elections would also transform campaign finance with a Democracy Voucher program that would allow all Seattleites to contribute to the campaigns of their choice.

With these reforms, more candidates will be able to run, and they’ll have far more incentive to talk with all of their constituents. And we’ll have a reason to engage, because our voices will matter.

That’s the heart of Honest Elections: the promise that ordinary people can not only have a voice in politics, but a voice that will be listened to. Without that promise of worthy candidates and fair representation I couldn’t get myself to the polls. Now that the possibility is there, I can’t keep myself away. And I’ll do everything I can do bring my 99.7% of underrepresented peers with me.

Yvonne Socolar is a 24 year-old volunteer with Honest Elections Seattle who helped gather signatures to get Initiative 122 on the ballot.