Washington’s presidential primary election will end March 10, the date that voters must return their ballots.

The primary is a chance for voters to participate in the process of nominating candidates for president, and is the only election in Washington in which voters are required to mark and sign party declarations written by the major political parties–Democrat and Republican. The parties will use the primary results to allocate delegates to their national nomination conventions.

Every registered voter in Washington should receive a mailed ballot packet after Feb. 21. County election departments and the state elections division of the secretary of state can be contacted with questions about ballots and other election details.

Information about the nominating process is available from Washington State Democrats at 206-583-0664, info@wa-democrats.org and www.wa-democrats.org, and Washington State Republican Party at 425-460-0570, caleb@wsrp.org and www.wsrp.org.

Separate from the presidential primary, parties run caucuses to determine issues for party platforms. For instance, Republican Party voters in Pierce County can participate in their local precinct caucuses that are scheduled for Feb. 29 at 10 a.m. at locations in Graham, Puyallup, Gig Harbor, Tacoma, Lakewood, Milton and Bonney Lake. Participants will be asked to show a valid driver license with their current address. Voters can determine their caucus location and register in advance at https://wsrp.org/caucus/. And information about serving as a delegate to the party’s county convention is available at piercegop@piercegop.org and 253-722-5353.