Washington state held its primary elections on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Every registered voter received a mailed ballot after Feb. 23.

According to the Washington Secretary of State website, the 2024 Presidential Primary is a chance to participate in the nomination process for the office of U.S. Washington’s Presidential Primary. The Washington Presidential Primary was first created in 1989 through a citizen’s initiative to the Legislature to include more voters in the process. This is the only election in which state law requires Washington voters to mark and sign party declarations.

Dr. Aaron Hitefield, a political science professor at Whitworth University, offered his insights on the significance of these primary elections in Washington and how it influences the nomination.  

” [The] top-two primaries were instituted in Washington in 2004 and went into effect in 2008,” said Hitefield. “Washington makes it quite easy to vote, reducing most barriers keeping people from turning out to vote. Our system results in ‘typically’ higher turnout than many states, and often above the national average.”  

A top-two primary is where all candidates run in the same election and on the same ballot. “It is quite interesting, as in the current system we can theoretically have one party with two candidates represented in the general election. That said, the system also can negatively incentivize multiple candidates from one party [to emerge and run] in an election,” said Hitefield.

“Parties play an important role in recruiting, endorsing and funding candidates. That said, party endorsements cannot be printed on the ballot, which is supposed to theoretically limit party influence at the polls,” said Hitefield.