Political parties in Washington

Note: The information contained on this page may be out of date. To ensure accuracy for readers, we are working to update all major and minor political party pages, across all 50 states and U.S. Territories. To submit information or updates please contact us.

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Select a state below to learn more about ballot access requirements for candidates in that state.

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Note: This article is not intended to serve as a guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.

## Contents

* 1 Political parties
* 2 See also
* 3 Footnotes

Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.

HIGHLIGHTS

* Because Washington utilizes a top-two, nonpartisan primary system, the state does not officially recognize political parties.

* In some states, a candidate may choose to have a label other than that of an officially recognized party appear alongside his or her name on the ballot. Such labels are called political party designations. Washington allows candidates to use political party designations.

To learn more about ballot access requirements for political parties in Washington, see this article.

## Political parties[edit]

See also: List of political parties in the United States

As of December 2021, the two largest political parties in Washington were the Democratic and Republican parties. The top-two primary system, however, is a nonpartisan primary, which allows a candidate to select any party designation to appear next to his or her name on the ballot.

Party  | Website link  | By-laws/platform link

|
|

Democratic Party of Washington | Link | Party by-laws
Republican Party of Washington | Link | Party by-laws

## See also[edit]

* Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Washington
* Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Washington
* List of political parties in the United States
* Democratic Party of Washington
* Republican Party of Washington

## Footnotes[edit]

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Recount laws|

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Ballot access for
political candidates|

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presidential candidates|

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Ballot access for
political parties|

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