The League of Women Voters will be hosting a program in Park Rapids on January 23 that will explain the upcoming presidential primary in the state.

The presidential nominating primary is one way that Minnesota voters decide which presidential candidates appear on the ballots in November. The presidential nominating primary is not a traditional election for a candidate but is a process for the political party that similar reflects an election because local elected officials administer it in the same way they administer an election.

A Minnesota presidential primary has been held four times in the state’s history, and in May, Governor Mark Dayton signed a bill that will reinstate a presidential primary on March 3, 2020. The procedures for this presidential primary will be new to a lot of people and many changes have been made. To understand the breakdown of these new changes, league members will review the details and changes during the program. There will then be time for questions with a representative from the County Auditor’s Office as well as Hubbard County election judges who will be there.

The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan volunteer organization whose mission is to encourage informed and active participation in government and influence public policy through education and advocacy.

The meeting will be held at Northwoods Bank Community Room in Park Rapids and will begin at 6 p.m.

By — Destiny Wiggins