“Tips for making sure your vote counts in the March 10 Presidential Primary”

• Editor’s note: these are excellent suggestions from our county Auditor Mary Hall.

“More than 30 years after legislators created a Presidential primary, Washington voters are finally getting a Presidential primary that matters. In Washington, we don’t register by party, but this year’s Presidential nominating process will be substantially different.”

“For voters, the primary process will start this week, when we mail ballots. Once you receive your ballot, the familiar process you’re used to will include some important differences:

1. Unlike the state primary election, you must sign a party declaration on the outside return envelope. During processing, these envelopes are manually sorted by the party marked on the outside of the envelope. This declaration must be the same party as the candidate voted on the ballot. If the oath is altered, or the ballot inside doesn’t match it, your vote won’t count.
2. Democratic and Republican party primaries will appear on the same ballot, but you must only vote for one candidate. If you mark two, your ballot is an overvote, and won’t count. If you sign the Republican oath and vote for a Democrat, or vice versa, your ballot won’t count.
3. In Washington, you don’t have to declare a political party when you register to vote. So, signing the declaration will have no impact on how you can vote in future elections. You can vote for whomever you want in all future elections, including the August primary and the November general election.”

Click here to read Auditor Hall’s full comments in The Olympian today.