Presidential campaigns are cranking up, and the Democratic Party will hold state and national conventions to choose our nominee. The stages of the process begin locally.
Tuesday, March 12, 2024: Washington’s Presidential Primary. Voters throughout the state have an opportunity to declare that they are Democrats and choose a qualified candidate. The outcome of this election will determine how many state and national delegates are allocated to each candidate.
Saturday, April 6, 2024: 24th LD Delegate Election. It’s time to start thinking about being a delegate to the state or national convention! All Democrats who are members of the 24th LD Democrats (includes members of county parties) may vote on delegates to the state convention. These delegates will attend the State Convention (where the platform is adopted) and elect delegates to the national convention. Members who want to vote for delegates will need to pre-register to receive a ballot by email.
Late May, 2024 Congressional District-Level Delegate Election. The delegates we elect in our LD will participate with all LD-level delegates from the 6th Congressional District to elect Six delegates to the National Convention. Our 24th LD Delegation will have an opportunity to choose members of the delegation to serve on convention committees such as Platform, Credentials, Rules, and Affirmative Action.
Saturday, June 22, 2024: Washington State Democratic Convention. The Convention will adopt a platform. Our delegation will include those elected April 6 plus all local party Chairs, Vice Chairs, and State Committee Members. The delegation will meet ahead of the convention to elect members of convention committees and to consider input on the platform. The delegation can also submit input to the platform.
August 19-22: Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago. Democrats from across the country will nominate our candidate for the Presidency.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024: Presidential Election will take place. We will also elect our U. S. Senator, our Representative to Congress, our Governor and all other state executives, and many local officials.
Differences from the past: Delegates are allocated by the outcome of the Presidential Primary rather than precinct caucuses. Members vote on all delegates, regardless of their favored candidate. Members must pre-register to vote on delegates. County parties will not be directly involved in election of delegates to the state convention, although we will rely on them to help recruit delegate candidates and share information about this process. (County parties may adopt local platforms.)