SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Voters in Tuesday’s Washington presidential primary need to have their ballots postmarked or dropped off by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
One thing Washington primary voters should know is that this ballot is a little different than the ones they normally fill out.
The first thing that is different is how you fill out the ballot. You will see two different boxes, one for Republicans and the other for Democrats. Voters can only fill out one of those boxes. If you fill out both, your vote will not count! Make sure to only mark one box.
After you mark your ballot, there is one more thing you need to do. Once the ballot is folded up and put inside the envelope, you must write on the outside of the ballot which box you voted for. Ultimately, you are marking your vote on the ballot itself as well as on the envelope. The box you mark on the outside must match which party you voted for on the actual ballot.
Choosing a party in the primary in Washington is public record for the next 60 days, but it is not permanent. Voters can cast their vote for whoever they want once the general election comes around in November.
Former President Trump is the only candidate left in the race for Republicans and President Biden is the frontrunner for the Democratic party. Both men are significantly ahead in votes to receive their party’s nomination. The Democratic Party also has an option for “Uncommitted Delegates” which means delegates go to whoever wins the primary, but you do not have to support a specific candidate.
Once the primary is over, the Democrat party will give delegates to every candidate who gets at least 15 percent of the vote. The more votes they get will determine how many delegates they receive.
The Republican Party will give delegates to anyone who gets more than 20 percent of the votes. If any candidate gets more than half of the votes, they will receive all of the delegates.
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