The Duties of a Precinct Committee Person

Robert J. Byrne from Existence in America © 1989

isbn 1-55605-128, -129 Wyndham Hall Press

The duties of a precinct committee person can generally be defined as follows:

1. Take annual census of your precinct (canvas)
2. Greet new precinct residents
3. Promote voter registration
4. Take part in candidate selection process
5. Get necessary signatures on petitions for all your party's candidates
6. Organize precinct with a 'block captain' in every block to assist in carrying out all your duties
7. Assist your party candidate's campaign staffs as they function in your precinct.
8. Get out the vote on election day
9. Let appropriate candidates and party officials know the feelings of precinct residents and maintain a good line of communications for the precinct residents with the party's elected officials and higher party officials
10. Respond to certain requests from constituents who may need assistance
11. Assist in finding the appropriate workers for your polling place on election day
12. Elect party leadership

    In the case of a building or bridge, a solid foundation is necessary or the structure will crumble. Every system or organization must have a solid base or it, too, will not stand the test of time.

    The required activity that should be carried out at precinct level, in all too many cases, is nonexistent or unsatisfactory. When vacancies exist the residents of those precincts automatically have a diminished voice in the political system. You cannot expect too much independent thinking by an appointed precinct committee person with patronage job. And the fact that several precinct committee persons never go beyond the block they live on. Perhaps the best test of how the situation is at precinct level is to ask every registered voter with a party affiliation to identify their two precinct committee persons? Or, ask yourself have you ever seen a precinct committee person at your door?