How to get involved in Washington's caucuses

HOW DO I PARTICIPATE IN A CAUCUS?

On Feb. 9, Washington will hold caucuses across the state. If you are thinking about attending your neighborhood caucus but are unsure of what to expect, we're here to help.

Caucuses will open at 1 p.m. on Feb. 9. The delegate selection process begins after 1:30 p.m.

FIND YOUR CAUCUS LOCATION

Democratic caucus: wa-democrats.org

Republican caucus: King County: kcgop.org/caucus_locator.html; statewide: wsrp.org

WHAT TO EXPECT AT YOUR PRECINCT CAUCUS

Attendees will be asked to sign in, affirm their support for the party and list their presidential preference. Only registered voters can vote at the caucus, although others may participate in the discussion.

The caucus chair will call the meeting to order and begin by explaining the caucus process. Each precinct caucus will elect one or more delegates, depending on the size of the precinct.

Attendees may gather in groups according to their presidential preference. Participants will discuss the presidential candidates.Short speeches to the group may be allowed.

Democrats vote for presidential candidates they support. To be viable, each candidate must have a certain number of votes relative to the total number of attendees. People aligned with a non-viable candidate must realign with another campaign.

Candidates are awarded delegates proportionally, based on the number of supporters for each candidate. Delegates are then elected by the members present at the caucus.

Republicans nominate delegates first. There is no limit to the number of nominees. Participants then vote to elect delegates based on their candidate preference.

The delegate who wins the majority vote is elected. Several votes may be held to fill additional delegate positions.

Whichever candidate has the most elected delegates is considered the winner of the caucus.

AFTER THE CAUCUS

Precinct caucuses will be followed by additional rounds of caucuses or conventions, with each round electing a smaller number of delegates to go on to the next round until the final selection for the national convention is completed. But the caucus system won't account for all the delegates in either party.

Republicans will look to the Feb. 19 primary to choose nearly half their 40-member delegation to the Republican National Convention.

Democratic Party leaders and public officeholders automatically are awarded 17 of the 97 slots in their party's delegation to the Democratic National Convention.

Source: Washington State Democrats, Washington State Republican Party