As the upcoming presidential election remains stuck in the glare of the national spotlight, closer to home Martha’s Vineyard voters will have some sorting to do when it comes to local races this fall.

Among other things, two open seats for the Cape and Islands legislative delegation have attracted a crowded field of candidates.

State Sen. Dan Wolf and Rep. Timothy Madden both decided not to seek reelection this year. Currently there are 12 candidates vying for the two legislative seats. Five are running for state senator and seven are running for state representative. That field will be narrowed following

the state primary on Sept. 8.

Next week the Martha’s Vineyard League of Women Voters will host a forum for the legislative candidates. The forum is on Wednesday, August 17 at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury. Deborah Medders will moderate and direct questions to the candidates on topics of interest to the Vineyard. The forum runs from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. There is no admission charge.

For state representative, five candidates will face off in the Democratic primary; two independents are also running for the seat. The district covers all of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and the western precincts of Falmouth, including Woods Hole.

The five Democrats are Dylan Fernandes of Falmouth, Michael Heylin of Falmouth, Ewell Hopkins of Oak Bluffs, Jessica Lambert of Falmouth and Timothy Soverino of Nantucket. The two independents are Jacob Ferry of West Tisbury and Tobias Glidden of Nantucket. There is no primary contest on the Republican ticket.

Five candidates are in the primary runoff for the Cape and Islands state senate, including two Republicans and three Democrats. The Republican candidates are James Crocker of Barnstable and Anthony Schiavi of Harwich. The Democrats are Julian Cyr of Truro, Sheila Lyons of Wellfleet and Brian Mannal of Barnstable.

Primary races are also in the offing for Dukes County sheriff and register of deeds. Longtime sheriff Michael McCormack and register of deeds Dianne Powers are both retiring this year.

Two Democrats are vying to replace Sheriff McCormack; Robert Ogden and Marc Rivers will both appear on the primary ballot. Mr. Ogden is the county Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) officer. Mr. Rivers is a former police officer and Dukes County deputy sheriff.

And four Democrats are in a primary runoff for register of deeds: Paulo DeOliveira of Edgartown, Laura Hairston of Oak Bluffs, Candace Nichols of Edgartown and Eve Lauren Vincent of Vineyard Haven.

The last day to register to vote for the primary is Friday, August 19.

The general election is Nov. 8.

The League forum next Wednesday will focus on the candidates for the state legislative seats. There will be no questions from the floor, but time will be allotted after the forum for audience members to mingle with the candidates, a press release said.

The public is encouraged to attend.

Quoting its own motto, the League press release said: “Democracy is not a spectator sport.”