Democracy
Reform
We fight so everyone can participate in this essential process.
Voting is fundamental to a functional democracy. Ensuring everyone has an opportunity to participate in the voting process is critical to making sure democracy works for everyone. We fight to expand access to voting to immigrants, regardless of their documentation access. We fight for incarcerated people’s right to vote. We can’t make sound democratic decisions for people unless they are represented in their government through the right to vote.
Kent For Districts
The City of Kent is exclusively represented by an "At-Large" City Council. This means that each City Councilmember must campaign throughout the entire city rather than individual districts, creating economic barriers to grassroots campaigns. It also leaves areas of the city left out of representation.
Kent is one of the most diverse cities in Washington and continues to diversify. The city needs an elections system that would match Seattle’s by designating 5 District Positions and 2 Citywide. Giving each area of the city a voice on the City Council and making it more economically equitable to campaign in the city of Kent.
Kent had a 24% voter turnout in the 2023 General election, 12% below the state’s 36%. WashingtonCAN has a core mission of increasing voter turnout, and a key to achieving that success is making elections truly representative of the people. We will be working to gather signatures through June championing the initiative onto the November ballot for Kent voters.
We think every neighborhood should have a voice in their community!
Connect with us to create real democracy reform locally.
Organizing Director, Rashell Lisowski, doing GOTV work in the 2023 Special Election.
Get Out The Vote
What is it? Often referred to as GOTV, Get Out The Vote is used to describe a coordinated effort to register voters and increase voter turnout. Our core values are deeply rooted in civic engagement and fair elections, so WashingtonCAN mobilizes voters in each election cycle because every election is an important election.
There are many opportunities for WashingtonCAN members to volunteer for this important work.
Washington Voter Resources
Washington has an Elections Dashboard that makes it easy to access Voters' Guides, Dates & Deadlines, Initiatives & Referenda, Election Results, and more!
Registering to vote is easy! Register Online.
Update your voter registration. Make sure your address and name are listed correctly to be sure you receive your mail-in ballot. Update your information.
Know where to go. Find Drop Box & Voting Center Locations.
Endorsements
WashingtonCAN generates real change Getting Out The Vote, and the first step to making strong connections at the doors and on the phones for candidates and initiatives is our rigorous endorsement process.
Endorsements are a several-step interview process that involves members of the community, the WACAN leadership council and boards. An endorsement from WashingtonCAN is held in high regard with a history as one of the largest grassroots memberships in the state, a strong ground game, and expanding network every day. We have been winning on local, state, and national levels for 40 years.
Gina Owens, Member of WashingtonCAN since 2001 and Seattle resident, gives testimony for Honest Elections Seattle in Seattle City Hall.
City of Seattle Democracy Vouchers
In 2015, Seattle voters passed I-122, a WashingtonCAN member-led Initiative known as "Honest Elections Seattle", to reform the way campaigns are typically financed for candidates, including campaign contribution limits for lobbyists and contractors and democracy vouchers distributed by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC) to eligible Seattle residents.
This type of public campaign financing is the first of its kind in the Nation. The property tax that funds the Democracy Voucher Program costs the average homeowner about $8.00 per year and was funded for 10 years.
Find out more about the City of Seattle Democracy Vouchers.
“Taking big money out of politics, where even low-income people like myself can contribute to candidates, is why I supported passing Honest Elections and why I still support the voucher program”
Grassroots Achievements
2004
Registered more than 52,000 voters, primarily low-income, people of color. The largest nonpartisan voter registration project in State history.
2008
Canvassers knock on 77,000 doors and make 323,000 calls to educate voters for a historic election.
2009
Aided the fight to restore voting rights to former felons disenfranchised by prior convictions