Tuesday 29 February 2000: 12 of 37 delegates to the Republican National Convention are allocated to presidential contenders based on the results of today's voting in today's Washington Presidential Primary.

• 12 delegates (1 from each of the 9 Congressional Districts and 3 at-large) are to be allocated proportionally to presidential contenders based on the primary vote statewide. A 20 percent threshold is required in order for a presidential contender to be allocated National Convention delegates at the statewide level.

Tuesday 7 March 2000: Republican Party Caucuses meet in each precinct. Each Precinct Caucus chooses the precinct's delegates to the County Convention. The results of the 7 March Caucuses are used to allocate the remaining 25 National Delegates to the presidential contenders.

• 18 delegates (2 delegates for each of the 9 Congressional Districts) are selected at the Precinct Caucuses and County Conventions.
• 7 delegates (all at-large) are selected at the State Convention.

"There is no formal system applied in the Precinct Caucuses to relate the presidential preference of the Caucus participants to the choice of the precinct's delegates to the Republican Convention of the County in which the precinct is located. The participants at each Precinct Caucus alone determine if presidential preference is to be a factor in such choice and, if so, how it is to be applied."

24 March - 6 May 2000: Republican Party County Conventions convene in each county. Each County Convention chooses delegates to both the Congressional District Conventions and the State Convention.

• "County Conventions choose both the county's delegates to the Republican Party Convention of the Congressional District the county is a part of as well as the county's delegates to the Washington State Republican Convention. Again, there is no formal system applied in the County Convention to relate the presidential preference of the County Convention delegates to the choice of the county's delegates to either the Republican Convention of the Congressional District in which the county is located or the Washington State Republican Convention; each County Convention alone determine if presidential preference is to be a factor and, if so, how it is to be applied."

• "Once more, there is no formal system governing how the District Convention is to go about indicating its presidential preference to the State Convention. It is the delegates in attendance at the Congressional District Convention alone who decide how best to go about this."

Friday 16-17 June 2000: The Washington State Republican Convention officially convenes. The State Convention chooses 7 of Washington's delegates to the Republican National Convention.

• "There is no formal system of allocating these remaining 7 National Convention delegates to presidential contenders. These delegates will apparently be allocated according to the vote of the Washington State Convention as a whole."

WASHINGTON STATE Election Law
Presidential Primaries
How an "open" primary can legally be "closed".

RCW 29.19.055 [NOTE: "RCW"= Revised Code of Washington] Allocation of delegates -- Party declarations.

(1) A major political party may, under national or state party rules, base the allocation of delegates from this state to the national nominating convention of that party in whole or in part on the participation in precinct caucuses and conventions conducted under the rules of that party.

(2) If requested by a major political party, the secretary of state shall adopt rules under RCW 29.19.070 to provide for any declaration required by that party.

(3) Voters who subscribe to a specific political party declaration under this section must be given ballots that are readily distinguishable from those given to other voters. Votes cast by persons making these declarations must be tabulated and reported separately from other votes cast at the primary and may be used by a major political party in its allocation of delegates under the rules of that party.

(4) For a political party that requires a specific voter declaration under this section, the secretary of state shall prescribe rules for providing, to the state and county committees of that political party, a copy of the declarations or a list of the voters who participated in the presidential nominating process of that party.

[1995 1st sp.s. c 20 § 3.]

(below is the law referred to in section 2 above:)

RCW 29.19.070 Rules.

The secretary of state as chief election officer may make rules in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW to facilitate the operation, accomplishment, and purpose of this chapter. The secretary of state shall adopt rules consistent with this chapter to comply with national or state political party rules.

[1995 1st sp.s. c 20 § 4; 1989 c 4 § 7 (Initiative Measure No. 99).]

(RCW 34.05 referred to above is simply the state's Administrative Procedure Act which details precisely how a Washington state government department or agency- in this case, the WA SOS- can go about making administrative rules and regulations [things like when hearings would be required, "sunshine laws", etc.])

Washington has 39 counties and 9 congressional districts: 31 counties are wholly within a given congressional district; 8 counties are divided among more than one congressional district.

UNDIVIDED COUNTIES: (those wholly within one congressional district)

• CD # 2: Island, San Juan, Skagit and Whatcom
• CD # 3: Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific, Skamania and Wahkiakum
• CD # 4: Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Kittitas, Okanogan and Yakima
• CD # 5: Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla and Whitman
• CD # 6: Clallam, Jefferson and Mason

DIVIDED COUNTIES: (those split between more than one congressional district)

• Adams: CDs 4 and 5
• Grays Harbor: CDs 5 and 6
• King: CDs 1, 7, 8 and 9
• Kitsap: CDs 1 and 6
• Klickitat: CDs 3 and 4
• Pierce: CDs 6, 8 and 9
• Snohomish: CDs 1 and 2
• Thurston: CDs 3 and 9

CD # 7 is wholly within King County