Every county in America is subdivided into precincts, wards, townships, or parishes (all synonymous terms). There are approximately, 183,000 precincts in the 50 states. The voters of each precinct, according to their state’s laws, can elect or appoint one man and one woman to represent the people of that precinct in their political party’s organizational structure (sometimes called the party “machine”). The precinct chairs/executives become members of their county committee and elect their county committee’s Chair and Vice-Chair who, in turn, help elect their Party’s State Committee; plus, they largely influence which candidates will run (and most likely be elected) in their party’s primary election and who, subsequently, will carry their party’s banner in the November General Elections. 

    In most cases, the existing corruption of “Party Bosses” is due to the precinct captains’ ignorance or apathy about their role. Nationwide, half of these positions sit empty and most voters no longer even know they exist. If Constitutional conservatives will fulfill the precinct leader’s role and elect Constitutional conservative chairs and vice-chairs to their county committees, we can cleanse our representative form of government in very short order. This is assuming the men and women who fill the precinct positions have the wisdom of Cleon Skousen gleaned from The Five Thousand Year Leap and the virtue of George Washington (see Glenn Beck’s Being George Washington).

    The exact way these elections take place varies significantly in each state but their powers are similar. It is these voting members of the political party structure that determine it’s direction. The ONLY way to permanently return our misguided political parties to Constitutional integrity, is to understand how these state organizations work, use the “Ward System,” and bind the Party candidates down with the “chains of the Constitution.” This was no transient idea held by Jefferson who referred to the wards variously as:

• “little republics” that are “the main strength of the great one” and “the vigor given to our revolution” in his letter to John Tyler in 1810.

• “the way to have good and safe government” in a letter to Joseph C. Cabell in 1816

• “the wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect exercise of self-government and for its preservation” in his letter to Samuel Kercheval in 1816.

To get a general overview of how this election process happens, let’s look in detail at my state of Missouri as an example. 

1. First, you must understand your state’s existing political structure. In Missouri, there are:

A. 3425 Precincts

B. 114 Counties 

C. 163 Legislative Districts 

D. 34 Senatorial Districts

E. 8 Congressional Districts

2. Next, you must understand how your political party’s organizational structure is constituted:

A. It is imperative that you understand how your party’s voting members are elected if you are to influence whether Constitutional Conservatives or Progressives will determine the direction of your party in your state.

B. Below is the GOP Organizational Chart:

RNC 

Republican  National Committee 

 168 members - 3 members per state & US territory

(Each state's delegation is made up of a "National" Committeeman

 & Committeewoman and the Chairman of the State Party)   

|

56 REPUBLICAN STATE & US TERRITORY COMMITTEES*   

Consisting of 1 man & 1 woman from each

jurisdiction's Senatorial Districts

           |

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT COMMITTEES (8 in MO)

 Made up of the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of each County and

Legislative District in that congressional district. Main function is

to chose a Chairman who wields significant Party influence

|

SENATORIAL DISTRICT COMMITTEES (34 SDs in MO)

  Made up of the Chair and Vice-Chair of each county 

  and each legislative district in the senatorial district 

| 

  LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT COMMITTEES (163 LDs in MO)

  Made up of the precinct committeemen & women who

  reside in each legislative distrct & elect a Chair & V-Chair. 

  (These chairs, in turn, serve on their appropriate SD and CD committees)

|

   COUNTY COMMITTEES (114 in MO)

   Consisting of a man and a woman from each county precinct -

 elected every two years in the Primary Election by the registered voters in each precinct.

 (These members elect a Chair & Vice-Chair for the county and each legislative district in the county.

  These Chairs and vice-Chairs, in turn, serve on the Senatorial District cmtes and the Congressional District cmtes)

*Each state may have individualized rules for how their state committee members are elected.

3.   Next, determine if the Precinct Captain position in YOUR county is open (I can help you with this. Fully HALF of these positions are vacant nationwide and can be filled immediately by appointment or by election at your next Primary Election. Precinct Captains are the people who elect the Party's leadership!

4.   Become familiar with the duties of precinct, ward, or township “captains” or committeemen/women.

A.   Help identify faithful voters & potential voters in your precinct.

B.  Assist Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts in your county.

C.  Help maintain the integrity of your precincts voter registration records using the tools at True The Vote. (optional)

D.   **Most importantly**: ELECT PARTY OFFICIALS during reorganization meetings (County & Legislative District Chairs & Vice-Chairs). These people, in turn, largely determine the Party’s Constitutional faithfulness at the state level and may go on to serve on the Party’s State and National Committees.

5.   Understand your party’s election requirements and election calendar. (Non-Missouri states may find key resources at www.precinctstrategy.com to help them find details specific to their states):

A.   Feb. 27, 2024 to 5:00 pm, March 26, 2024: Filing period for all county office primary elections. (This includes the important positions of Committeeman and Committeewoman that constitute the county committees for each political party. The people on these committees control the philosophy and direction of the state and national parties, i.e. Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Constitution and all other active political parties.) Check with your local county election officials or your party’s County Chair to learn the exact procedure for filing for this office.

B.   August 6, 2024: Primary Election Day for County and State Offices including contested races for precinct, ward, or township “captains” (committeemen & committeewomen). Uncontested precinct races win automatically and do not appear on the ballot in Missouri.

C.   Week of August 19, 2024: County Committees of all Missouri political parties reorganize electing their Chair and Vice-Chair. Meeting called by outgoing county chair.

D.   Week of August 26, 2024: Legislative District Committees reorganize by Party electing their Chairs and Vice-Chairs. Meeting called by outgoing LD Chair. (Legislative districts wholly contained within a county can reorganized at the County Reorganizational Mtg.)

E.   Week of Sept 2, 2024 Senatorial District Committees reorganize by Party electing their committee officers, State Committeeman, and State Committeewoman. Meetings called by outgoing SD Chair.

F.    Week of September 9, 2024: Congressional District Committees reorganize by Party electing their committee officers. Meeting called by outgoing CD Chair.

 Not in Missouri?    Use this link: The Precinct Project Blog  to find resources for determining your state’s election calendar and requirements to become a Precinct Patriot in your state. (Look for your state in the side bar.)

6. You must file for the committeeman/woman position in your Precinct DURING THE FIING WINDOW and win election in your party’s primary or local caucus.* (In MO, the Precinct Committeemen & women are elected at the Primary be held on 8/6/2024.)  To truly influence the makeup and direction of your State Party, you will need to elect Constitutional conservatives to the following leadership positions.  (Missourians can use the official Missouri State Manual website to learn who currently holds these positions in MO.)

• County Chair & Vice-Chair requiring a majority of precinct committee votes from each county.  MO County Leaders (Scroll down to County info.)

• Legislative District Chair & Vice-Chair requiring a majority of precinct committee votes from each legislative district. MO LD Leaders (Scroll down to LD info.)

• Senatorial District Chair & Vice-Chair requiring a majority of County & LD Chairs & Vice-Chairs who make up the Senatorial District Committee.  MO SD Leaders

• Congressional District Chair & V-Chair requiring a majority of County & LD Chairs & V-Chairs who make up the Congressional District Committee.  MO CD Leaders

• State Committeeman & woman requiring a majority of County & LD Chairs & Vice-Chairs who serve on the Senatorial District Committee.  MO State Committee

• State Party Chairman & Vice-Chair requiring a majority of votes on the State Committee. MO State Party Leaders

7. If elected, you must learn the rules (Bylaws) which govern the structure and election process of these elected positions and Robert's Rules of Order to be effective.   

Some people think these party officials choose the candidates for higher office. This is not true in MO where any eligible candidate can file to be the party’s nominee. However, party officials have a strong influence on who wins the Primary because of their influence in recruiting and endorsing candidates. They also influence whether the Party stays philosophically true to its platform. There is no reason why YOU cannot become a Precinct Patriot and be one who influences these decisions.  Here are just two examples from the 2010 election cycle…

8.    If you are still wondering if you need to get involved at this level, please watch the following cartoon and picture yourself as John Q. Public who is the Precinct Patriot in this clever little 1940’s film: Make Mine Freedom. 

***

Questions for Your Current Precinct Committee Person or candidate to vet them for continued service. (Many are serving from tradition but not actively engaged.)

A. Does the current office holder or announced candidate have a history of integrity in their current/prior employment or office?

B. Can they explain the job description of the precinct executive?

C. Do they know the limits on government imposed by the Constitution they will swear to preserve, protect, and defend? (Download our questionnaires below to assist you with determining who is truly a Constitutional Conservative.)

D. If they are currently serving, what is their attendance record and and are they actively fulfilling their duties?

E. Have they voted, in the past, for party leadership that is committed to upholding the State and U.S. Constitutions?

F. If they do not pass this tests or if your precinct is vacant, please, consider filing yourself and serving as a Precinct Patriot.

Links to assist you in vetting your Party's candidates at any level:

• Candidate Questionnaire for people running for federal office to determine if they are constitutional conservatives.
• Candidate Questionnaire for people running for state or local office to determine if they are constitutional conservatives.
• 2022 MO Senatorial District Map
• 2022 MO Legislative District Map

*If you decide to become a Precinct Patriot and want to talk to a live, experienced person who has done it before, send your contact information on the form below and we will get back to you with:

• Our Step-by-Step Guide for filing, running, and getting elected to your precinct’s cmte spot (becoming a Precinct Patriot).
• A template for a flyer you can adapt for your neighborhood campaign to be precinct committeeman or committeewoman.

Extra Assignment:

Learn what kind of Government System the Founders
actually gave us: Republic vs Democracy

(10 minute video clip)