Kentucky Republicans, including Clinton County Republicans, will cast their votes for Republican candidates for president at a caucus to take place this coming Saturday, March 5.

The caucus, which is run by the state Republican party and county parties, replaces the usual presidential primary in May.

Republican voters in Clinton County will cast their vote at the Clinton County High School cafeteria on Saturday between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

By holding a caucus on March 5, Republican voters in Kentucky will have an earlier impact on the presidential race, at a time when candidates are still competing to win more states and their delegates to secure the presidential nomination.

“For the first time in decades, Kentucky Republicans are relevant in choosing our nominee for president,” said state party Chairman Mac Brown. “This is an exciting time, and we look forward to presidential candidates visiting our state as we get closer to March 5.”

On March 5, Republican voters will come to caucus locations anytime between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to vote for a Republican candidate for president by secret paper ballot. The voting process will be similar to a Kentucky election–voters will show identification, sign in, and vote by secret ballot–but the voting locations are different.

Most counties have a single location, while some of the most populous counties have multiple locations. Republican voters can determine their caucus location, and find additional information about the caucus, at the Republican Party of Kentucky’s website, rpk.org/caucus.

Some 11 (of an original 16 who initially entered the race) filed to participate in the caucus, all of whom will remain on the ballot. Voters will be notified at the caucus location about which candidates have dropped out of the race.

As of press time, only five active candidates were still campaigning and only three who consistently gained double-digit numbers among voters in previous elections or caucus voting.

The Republican presidential nomination is the only race that will be voted on at the caucus this Saturday.

Primary elections for all local, state, Congressional and Democrat presidential races, will still occur in May.

Voters who were registered Republican by December 31, 2015 are eligible to vote in the caucus this Saturday, March 5.

According to officials, the caucus votes will be tabulated Saturday at the conclusion of the voting process.

(Local results from Saturday’s caucus vote will be published in next week’s Clinton County News.)