WASHINGTON STATE DEMOCRATS ANNOUNCE SHIFT TO ENTIRELY REMOTE PROGRAMMING THROUGH MAY IN RESPONSE TO LATEST COVID-19 COUNTERMEASURES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | March 18, 2020

SEATTLE — In order to do our part to protect the health and safety of all Washingtonians, the Washington State Democratic Party announced the following shifts to entirely remote programming through May 30th.

  • The Legislative District Caucuses used to select delegates to the state convention are now shifting to an entirely digital voting process that we will be working with our local party organizations to put in place. This process will be modeled after the procedure used to fill state legislative vacancies and will include all Precinct Committee Officers in each legislative district.
  • The Congressional District Caucuses will also be shifted to a similar remote voting process. We are still developing a digital process for the election of delegates to the national convention, but will work closely with any presidential campaign receiving delegates once they are allotted following the certification of the presidential primary election. As has always been the case, each presidential campaign retains the right of refusal over any person elected to serve as a delegate pledged to their campaign.
  • We have also recommended to all our county party organizations that they shift their county conventions to an entirely digital process or postpone their events originally scheduled for May 3rd. Any Legislative District Caucuses that were scheduled to take place at a county convention are included in our shift to a digital process for the April 26th Legislative District Caucuses.
  • We are also postponing the 2020 Magnuson Awards Dinner from May 9th to August 8th. The event will still be held at the Washington State Convention Center on the new date at 5pm, and any tickets purchased for the event will of course be honored for this new date.
  • Our organizing team is continuing with voter outreach, but shifting our tactics to meet voters where they are for the duration of these public health countermeasures: online, on the phones, or from a safe physical distance. Our state party has been a national innovator in organizing techniques for years, and adapting to these ever changing circumstances is just the latest challenge we’ll overcome.

“As Governor Inslee has told us, we all have a responsibility to do what we can to slow the spread of this virus that could overwhelm our healthcare system and result in thousands of deaths if we don’t all pull together and follow public health officials’ advice,” said Washington State Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski. “While we take every precaution to protect the health and safety of people across our state, our work to mobilize Democratic voters will not stop. Our team has shifted to an entirely remote organizing strategy for the duration of this difficult time, and we will not let this virus stop us from building community and empowering people to make their voices heard at the ballot box.”

 

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