What: Republicans and Democrats meet at precinct caucuses across the state to conduct party business and kick off the nominating process for candidates.

Why: Both parties will be selecting delegates for higher-level assemblies, including county, congressional district and state. Delegates will decide which candidates make the June 26 primary ballot – statewide, both parties have contested primaries for governor and state treasurer, and Democrats have a primary for attorney general. There are also primaries in nearly every congressional district, as well as for quite a few legislative and county offices.

When: Caucuses start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 6. Party officials are urging attendees to arrive early – most locations should be checking in voters by 6:30 p.m. – and to plan on staying an hour or two.

Who: Anyone can attend, but only voters who meet certain criteria and are registered with either major party can participate in the March 6 precinct caucuses. Caucus-goers must have affiliated with their party by Jan. 8, lived in their precinct since Feb. 4 and updated their addresses on the voter rolls by Feb. 5. The exceptions are voters who turn 18 or who are naturalized as citizens after Jan. 8 but by March 6. They can participate if they meet residency requirements and register to vote and affiliate before caucuses.

Where: Find precinct and caucus locations at cologop.org for Republicans and coloradodems.org for Democrats. Precinct boundaries and caucus locations can change year to year, so don’t assume they’ll be where they were last time. Republicans are also urging those planning to caucus to pre-register at the state website, potentially speeding check-in procedures.