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Category: caucuses

Presidential Primary voting season under way

Presidential Primary voting season under way

Washington counties are sending about 65,000 Presidential Primary ballots to military and overseas voters this week. This signals the start of voting on favorites for the Republican and Democratic nominations. The rest of the state’s 4 million voters will get their ballots early next month. The 18-day voting period begins May 6, and ballots must be returned or postmarked by May 24. Military and overseas voters, including Peace Corps volunteers, missionaries, business people and other Washington citizens living abroad, get…

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Presidential caucuses/primary: `WA voters will have a voice’

Presidential caucuses/primary: `WA voters will have a voice’

  With the Iowa caucuses behind us, and the New Hampshire primary coming up Tuesday, you might be wondering how Washington’s presidential nomination process works — and with good reason! Rather than just a caucus or a primary, the Evergreen State will hold both, with each playing a different role in each party’s nomination process. So how will it all work? Our state’s May 24 presidential primary will operate much like a general election – with one big exception. Voters…

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Wyman praises GOP decision to use PrezPrimary

Wyman praises GOP decision to use PrezPrimary

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…

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PrezPrimary date stays May 24; Wyman: Voters still want a voice

PrezPrimary date stays May 24; Wyman: Voters still want a voice

Secretary Wyman, disappointed by defeat of her plans to move the 2016 Washington Presidential Primary from late May to early March, said Wednesday she’s nonetheless moving forward with a May 24 primary because “our voters want to vote; they want to be heard.” Wyman, the state’s chief elections officer, has been a strong advocate of the Presidential Primary and had praised lawmakers for including the funding in the state budget. But she had sought to move the primary from May…

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Secretary Wyman: `Voters win’ with 2016 Presidential Primary

Secretary Wyman: `Voters win’ with 2016 Presidential Primary

OLYMPIA – Secretary of State Kim Wyman is praising lawmakers for ensuring that Washington voters will have a voice in the 2016 presidential nominating process. Lawmakers in both chambers and both parties joined in approving $11.5 million for the state to hold a Presidential Primary next winter. Wyman, the state’s chief elections officer, will advocate for a March 8 election, conducted by mail over an 18-day period. The Primary is a big opportunity to engage voters, she said: “The voters…

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Secretary Wyman unveils 2016 Presidential Primary plan

Secretary Wyman unveils 2016 Presidential Primary plan

Secretary of State Kim Wyman is urging lawmakers to authorize a 2016 Presidential Primary and ensure that voters have a strong voice in the nominating process for the highest office in the land. Wyman, the state’s chief elections officer, said there will be huge public interest in the wide-open White House race next year, and that voters here deserve to be involved. Unveiling her proposal on Tuesday, she said: “My goal is to secure a voice for our Washington voters…

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Intern gets ‘up close & personal’ with how a bill becomes law

Intern gets ‘up close & personal’ with how a bill becomes law

Olympia interns are sometimes saddled with the mundane and routine, but Nate Hauger, legislative intern for Secretary of State Kim Wyman, got a rare front-row seat in seeing how a bill becomes law. Hauger, a junior political science major at Central Washington University, jumped at the opportunity to help research and draft a bill for Wyman and then help shepherd it through the long and winding legislative process. House Bill 1639 became the vehicle for the legislation. It would adjust…

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And they’re off and running!

And they’re off and running!

Washington’s campaign season is officially under way. Filing Week opened with a bang Monday with hundreds of candidates statewide filing for office.  There are 344 state offices open this year, along with potentially thousands of party precinct committee officer slots. Besides the presidential election and a U.S. Senate race, the state has an unusually rich assortment of open offices this year that are sure to attract heavy attention this week, says Secretary of State Sam Reed.  Reed himself is an…

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Caucus time: Reed urges strong turnout

Caucus time: Reed urges strong turnout

It’s Washington’s turn for a bit of limelight in the cross-country Republican presidential primary/caucus season. Secretary of State Sam Reed is urging a strong turnout for Washington’s precinct caucuses, beginning with the hotly contested Republican caucuses this Saturday.  Democrats will gather on Sunday, April 15. Reed, the state’s top elections official, reminds voters that there is no state-run presidential primary this year, due to budget cutbacks, thus underscoring the importance of the precinct caucuses and conventions run by the two…

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WA parties set caucus dates for 2012

WA parties set caucus dates for 2012

The Washington GOP and Democratic caucus dates have been set for 2012. The Republican gatherings will be on Saturday, March 3, very early on the national nominating calendar. The Democrats, with no apparent challenge to President Obama’s renomination, will meet on Sunday, April 15. In the absence of a presidential primary in 2012, the traditional caucus-convention process will be used by the two major parties to choose their national convention delegates and to work on platform issues for their respective…

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