The two major political parties in Washington will choose their delegates to their National Conventions in different ways. It is the National Conventions that actually nominate the party candidates for President. Democratic delegates in Washington state will be chosen through caucuses on March 26, 2016.

If you want to get your vote into the Democratic Presidential competition, you can locate your caucus through this link. The door should be open around 9 AM, the caucus begins at 10 AM. If you are unable to attend, there is a process for sending a proxy.

Other information is at this link for the Washington Democratic Party. The May 24 Primary is a straw poll only for Democrats. Nominations will not be based on it.

Republicans will choose the division of their delegates using the Washington primary voting which ends May 24. Ballots will be mailed starting May 6. You can find more information regarding delegates and conventions on the Washington Republican Party website.

Political party convention also create, update and hone the party platforms. If you have ideas you would like to be considered for the party platform, you need to participate with your local legislative district party organization. That is the grassroots where the platforms begin. Platforms are the declared policies of the political party.

Both parties hold conventions for each legislative district, each Congressional District, at the state level and the one everyone sees on TV, the National Convention. These are financed solely by the parties and their fundraising. They use volunteers to run them, be kind, these are your neighbors helping out and doing a great deal of work for free. It takes many months of preparation to pull this together. Please be gracious to them.

God Bless America.