DUTIES OF A PRECINCT COMMITTEEMAN
PCs have several significant responsibilities and duties they are to perform:
- PCs represent Republican voters at party meetings
- Participate in Central Committee events and subcommittees
- Develop a precinct-level organization for their precinct
- Be ready, willing, and able to support Republican campaigns between the primary and general elections
- Develop a Get Out the Vote plan for election day for their precinct
- Identify and recommend to the county clerk people to serve as election judges in their precinct voting locations
- Provide a list of 3 names for County or Legislative District vacancies
FIRST DUTY
- Keep in mind that your responsibility is to govern the direction of the County Central Committee and the Legislative District Committee
- The leadership of your committees should offer recommendations and seek support before they take action.
- The Central Committee is not a rubber stamp of approval for every action
- At meetings, be ready to ask questions and understand what you are being asked to support
SECOND DUTY
Party events require manpower. You are that manpower.
- County fairs across the state need hundreds of volunteers
- Fundraising Events throughout the year need workers
- Various local events throughout the county occur virtually every month
- The more people who are available to help, the more events we can accommodate
- The county will have a volunteer coordinator – let that person know you want to help and how you would like to help
- Your legislative district may also host events – those events will be announced by the Chairman – be willing to participate
THIRD DUTY
As a Precinct Committeeman, it is your statutory responsibility to recommend people to serve as judges to work in your precinct on each election day.
34-303. APPOINTMENT OF ELECTION JUDGES BY COUNTY CLERK. (1) … The precinct committeemen shall recommend persons for the position, in their respective precincts, to the county clerk in writing by the fifth Friday prior to the primary election and the county clerk shall appoint the judges from such lists if the persons recommended are qualified.
Doing so helps ensure election integrity in Idaho.
The weakest link in the Idaho Election process is same-day registration.
People are allowed to become voters simply by showing up in the polling place on election day where they are registered by people who are NOT full-time county employees. We assume the judges are appropriate, but the fact remains that in Idaho many of the appointed chiefs recruit their own people to work the precinct.
A judge who wants to operate illegally and allow people to be recruited to register and vote may be caught, and the voter may be caught, but those votes will still be counted. The risk is low as is, but it could be made even lower if both the Republican and Democrat PCs are recommending judges to the clerk.
FOURTH DUTY
As a precinct committeeman, if a vacancy exists in a Legislative seat or a County Commissioner seat, the Legislative District Committee or County Central Committee will provide three candidates to the Governor within 15 days and he will appoint a replacement out of those three names.
If a County seat other than Commissioner is vacated, the County Central Committee will provide three candidates to the County Commission and they will select one of those three candidates.
FIFTH DUTY
Develop a precinct-level organization plan for their precinct
- This is the hard part of the job – there will be an entire training session on how to do this so today we focus on what it is.
- A PC cannot go door to door efficiently in the whole precinct
- Divide and conquer – 20 to 50 homes per block
- Recruit block captains to work each block
In addition to block captains, identify others willing to do other jobs:
- Volunteer Coordinator
- Sign Captain to distribute candidate signs
- Event Captain to handle candidate meet and greets, voter registration drives or precinct open houses for information sharing
- Candidate Coordination for Campaign Literature Drops and voter outreach
Learn YOUR PRECINCT. Get to know your precinct in terms of voters:
- Where are your GOP voters living?
- What is their turnout?
- How many votes has the precinct historically turned out?
- Look at past voting history to see which voters are Presidential, General Election, Primary, and Off-year voters.
All elected PC’s can request access to the State Party GOP Numinar to obtain voter information.
SIXTH DUTY
Be ready, willing, and able to support Republican campaigns between the primary and general elections
Candidates usually will not have a precinct-level operation. They will rely on the party and the precinct committeemen to help reach voters in your precinct. Coordinating with candidates and turning out more voters from your precinct will help bring each candidate closer to victory.
Help can include coordinating literature drops for multiple Republican candidates, finding a local venue (a supporter’s home)/teaming up with nearby PC’s for meet-and-greet events, and/or turning out voters to attend a larger campaign event.
SEVENTH DUTY
Get Out the Vote (GOTV) involves doing everything possible to ensure that every Republican casts a ballot in the election.
- Primary turnout averages around 40 percent
- Off-year elections, because of the Idaho races for legislature and State Executives, will average 90%
Decisions are made by those who show up. Ensure all your voters show up – particularly true in the more purple.
Your Central Commiee should be working to Get Out the Vote (GOTV), which involves multiple facets for PC’s to be involved in:
- Identifying absentee ballot requesters and following up with them
- Providing sample ballots just as their absentee ballot arrives in the mail
- Keeping track of which Republicans in your precinct have voted
- Providing sample ballots at the polling location for your precinct
- Identifying poll watchers to be appointed for your precinct
- Offering transportation to the polls