OLYMPIA — Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs issued the following statement Monday regarding Washington’s Presidential Primary and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that states cannot decide eligibility for federal offices:
“I am glad that the U.S. Supreme Court has provided a clear federal answer to questions that have arisen in multiple states around this year’s Presidential election,” Secretary Hobbs said. “My office and county elections officials statewide have followed the law in providing candidate names to voters for the Presidential Primary now underway. I encourage all eligible voters to make informed choices and participate by March 12.”
As directed by state law RCW 29A.56, Secretary Hobbs provided election officials with the full candidate lists submitted by both political parties for the Presidential Primary on Jan. 9.
The Democratic Party had submitted three candidate names: Joseph R. Biden Jr., Dean Phillips, and Marianne Williamson, and allowed an option for voters to select uncommitted delegates. The Republican Party had submitted five candidate names for the Presidential Primary: Donald J. Trump, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Chris Christie.
Under state law, those names cannot be changed once submitted, and the Republican and Democratic parties have until March 5 to identify any write-in candidates for which either party wishes for votes to be counted.
Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees areas within state government including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office also operates the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, and administers the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees and the Productivity Board state employee suggestion program to provide incentives for efficiency improvements. The Secretary of State also oversees the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime.
