Secretary of State Kim Wyman says she is pleased with state Republicans’ decision to use the 2016 Presidential Primary to allocate the state’s delegates to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland next July.

Wyman, the state’s chief elections officer, called it “a big win for the voters of Washington.” She noted that for months, she has been urging both parties to use the Presidential Primary results. The Presidential Primary was created as a citizen initiative to the Legislature back in 1989. Said Wyman:

“The old caucus system run by the parties isn’t as convenient or effective in engaging voters as a statewide election for 4 million registered voters. Our main goal should be giving a voice to the broadest possible swath of the electorate. I am excited the Republican State Committee has chosen to use the results of the Presidential Primary to allocate their delegates. Based on past turnout, this will engage 10 times more voters than those who attend caucuses, and will make the voters’ choices meaningful.”

She said with 16 candidates currently in the Republican field and a growing list on the Democratic side, and late primaries scheduled in California, Oregon and Washington, she believes candidates will visit Washington and the region, and engage with voters and not just campaign funders.

The Presidential Primary was authorized in the new state budget with bipartisan support in both houses of the Legislature and signed by the governor. It is scheduled for May 24 as an all-mail election. Ballots will go out nearly three weeks ahead of time and the 24^th will be the postmark/dropbox deadline. A State Voters’ Pamphlet will be sent to every household.

Wyman’s attempt to move the primary to an earlier date in March was blocked by Democratic Party representatives who said their state committee is sticking with the caucus/convention process to allocate their delegates. They said they saw no reason to move the date earlier on the election calendar and would not be using the votes cast in the Presidential Primary for their nominating process. Their caucuses will be on March 26.

Republicans will also hold precinct caucuses on February 20 and county conventions will take place in March and April. National delegates will be selected at the state convention in Pasco in May, and will be bound by the results of the Primary a few days later.

The party said 11 at-large national delegates will be allocated on a proportional basis, based on the statewide vote, and 30 more will represent the 10 congressional districts. If a candidate carries a majority of the Primary vote in a congressional district, he or she will be awarded all three delegates from that district.