January 7 - Deadline for each major political party to submit their final list of candidates to be printed on their side of the ballot. Once the names are submitted to the Office of the Secretary of State, changes cannot be made. (RCW 29A.56) The same candidates will appear in the printed Voters’ Pamphlet and online Voters’ Guide. If you’re a major political party candidate/campaign, please contact our office.
January 25 – Military and overseas ballots and Voters’ Pamphlets are mailed.
February 12 thru 21 –3.4 million Voters’ Pamphlets are mailed statewide.
February 21 – Ballots are mailed to every registered voter and voting centers open.
March 2 - Deadline for online registrations and address updates; mailed registrations must be received by an elections official, not postmarked.
March 10 – Presidential Primary
- Last day to register or update in person at a county elections office.
- Mailed ballots must have a March 10 postmark to count.
- All returned ballots must have a valid signature.
- Ballot boxes and voting centers close at 8:00 p.m.
- After 8:00 p.m., counties begin transmission of results to the Secretary of State.
March 27 – Last day for Secretary of State to certify Presidential Primary results.
July, August - The major political parties hold conventions to officially nominate their candidates for US President. The 2020 Democratic National Convention is July 13-16, 2020, and the Republican National Convention is August 24-27, 2020.
For more info, contact the WA State Democratic Party @ 206-583-0664, or the WA State Republican Party @ 425-460-0570.