Precinct captain

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

Local political party position, usually elected

title: "Precinct captain" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["political-parties-in-the-united-states", "elections-in-the-united-states"] description: "Local political party position, usually elected" topic_path: "politics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precinct_captain" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Local political party position, usually elected ::

A precinct captain, also known as a precinct chairman, precinct delegate, precinct committee officer or precinct committeeman, is an elected official in the American political party system. The captain establishes a direct link between a political party and the voters in a local electoral precinct. Their role is to build a relationship between those who hold public office and those who vote at the polls.

Election to the office is by ballot or by the county party executive committee. Voters file their declaration of candidacy with their party in their voting district. If elected during the primary, the Precinct Captain shall serve as long as one remains eligible, or until seeking reelection in the subsequent district primary. Requirements vary among states and counties.

Responsibilities of the post include facilitating voter registration and absentee ballot access; leading get out the vote outreach efforts; distributing campaign and party literature; promoting the party; and addressing voter concerns. In many states Precinct Captains are also eligible to establish party unit committees for fundraising.

The concept of precinct leadership is to provide a grassroots position with officials generally serving as volunteers, though in some states they receive a stipend. Positions of county captain have also been created, but are usually used for election campaigns rather than party organizing.

In Illinois, Michelle Obama got her initial introduction to Democratic party politics when her father served as a Precinct Captain and the then-Michelle Robinson accompanied the elder Robinson on his rounds through his precinct.

In Washington, in case of a vacancy in the state legislature, the precinct committee officers will nominate candidates to fill the vacancy, which then need to be approved by the county council.

Office title designation by state

Titles may vary by political party.

  • Alabama – Unknown
  • Alaska – Unknown
  • Arizona – Precinct Committeeman
  • Arkansas – Unknown
  • California – Precinct Committeemen
  • Colorado – Precinct Committee Person (Republican){{Cite web|last=Souldern |first=Jeanne |date=2024-02-28 |title=Precinct caucuses 101: Taking the mystery out of the process |url=https://soprissun.com/precinct-caucuses-101-taking-the-mystery-out-of-the-process/ |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=The Sopris Sun |language=en-US}} ~ Precinct Organizer or Block Captain (Democrat){{Cite web|last=Souldern |first=Jeanne |date=2024-02-28 |title=Precinct caucuses 101: Taking the mystery out of the process |url=https://soprissun.com/precinct-caucuses-101-taking-the-mystery-out-of-the-process/ |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=The Sopris Sun |language=en-US}}
  • Connecticut – Town Committeeman
  • Delaware – City Committee Member in Wilmington, Delaware, County Committee Member in the rest of Delaware
  • Florida – Precinct Captain (Democrat) Precinct Committeeman (Republican)
  • Georgia – Precinct Captain
  • Hawaii – Precinct Committee
  • Idaho – Precinct Committeeman
  • Illinois – Precinct Committeeman
  • Indiana – Precinct Committeeman
  • Iowa – Precinct Captain
  • Kansas – Precinct Captain
  • Kentucky – Precinct Captain (with allowances for a Co-Captain and a Youth Captain for at least the Republican party)
  • Louisiana – unknown
  • Maine – unknown
  • Maryland – Precinct Captain
  • Massachusetts – Town Committeeman
  • Michigan – Precinct Delegate (officially, but less commonly, referred to as Delegate To County Convention)
  • Minnesota – Block Captain
  • Mississippi – unknown
  • Missouri – unknown
  • Montana – Precinct Officer
  • Nebraska – unknown
  • Nevada – Precinct Captain
  • New Hampshire – unknown
  • New Jersey – County Committeeman or Committeewoman
  • New Mexico – Ward Chair
  • New York – District Leader
  • North Carolina – Precinct Chairman
  • North Dakota – Precinct Committee Person
  • Ohio – Precinct Captain
  • Oklahoma – Precinct Chair
  • Oregon – Precinct Committee Person
  • Pennsylvania – Precinct Committee Member (Republican) ~ Precinct Committee Person (Democrat)
  • Rhode Island – unknown
  • South Carolina – Precinct President
  • South Dakota – Precinct Committeeman or Committeewoman
  • Tennessee – Precinct Committeeman or Committeewoman
  • Texas – Precinct Chair
  • Utah – Precinct Chair
  • Vermont – unknown
  • Virginia – Precinct Committeeman
  • Washington – Precinct Committee Officer
  • West Virginia – unknown
  • Wisconsin – Committeeman or Committeewoman
  • Wyoming – precinct committeeman and committeewoman

References

Sources

References

  1. "Archived copy".
  2. "Most Powerful Office in the Land".
  3. Bryant, Christine. "What Are the Duties of a Precinct Committeeman? {{!}} Synonym".
  4. "Archived copy".
  5. Gianassi, Donald. (2023-01-21). "Who Is My Precinct Committeeman? [Comprehensive Answer] - CGAA.org".
  6. "Become a County or Precinct Chair | Texas Democratic Party".
  7. Obama, Michelle. (2018). "Becoming". [[Viking Press]].
  8. Rich Smith. (2019-07-01). "A Legislative Shake-Up in Bothell: Rep. Derek Stanford Fills Palumbo's Old Seat, and Deputy Mayor Davina Duerr Fills Stanford's". [[The Stranger (newspaper).
  9. "Precinct Committeeman".
  10. (2013-06-12). "What is a PC?".
  11. Perez, Cheryl. (March 2021). "California Republican Party Structure".
  12. Griswold, Jena. "Caucuses, Assemblies and Conventions FAQs".
  13. Fish, Sandra. (2023-02-06). "Colorado Democratic Party, GOP prepare for intraparty reorganizations that will have big influence over their future".
  14. "2022 Town Committee Primaries".
  15. (Feb 2022). "Springfield Democrats".
  16. (2021). "Precinct Captain Manual".
  17. "Precinct Organizing".
  18. OahuGOP. "Precinct Election Meetings – Honolulu County Republican Party".
  19. "Section 34-624 – Idaho State Legislature".
  20. (2023). "Become A Precinct Committeeman".
  21. (2020). "Precinct Committeemen Handbook".
  22. desmoinesdem. (2016-01-31). "How the Iowa caucuses work, part 4: What a precinct captain does".
  23. "Become a Precinct Captain {{!}} Northwest Johnson County Republicans".
  24. "Kentucky – Republican Party Overview – Take Over the GOP".
  25. "Precinct Captain Responsibilities".
  26. "The 193rd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts".
  27. (2021-09-20). "Become a Precinct Delegate".
  28. mnhd66brepublicans. (2022-02-25). "Be a Block Captain in Your Precinct".
  29. "Become a Precinct Officer".
  30. "Clark County Republican Party".
  31. "Ward & Precinct Chair Roles".
  32. (2021-04-29). "What do district leaders do?".
  33. (2019). "NC Democrats 2019 Precinct Packet: Your Guide to Organizing Your Precinct".
  34. "Bylaws - Dem-NPL Party Democrats".
  35. "Precinct Captains Fairfield County GOP Ohio".
  36. (February 2021). "Precinct Leadership and Volunteer Guide".
  37. "Become a PCP".
  38. "Precinct Committee Persons".
  39. (May 2019). "Republican Precinct Committee Member Qualifications and Duties".
  40. (2017). "Precinct Committee Person Guide & Resources".
  41. (2021). "My South Carolina GOP".
  42. Sand, Elisa. "There are 194 contested GOP precinct committee races in SD this year. Here's what voters should know".
  43. "TN Voices For Liberty".
  44. (2021). "Precinct Chair and Activist Training and Reference Manual".
  45. bingham. (25 April 2016). "Collin County Republican Precinct Chairs {{!}} CollinGOP".
  46. "Precinct Positions – Precinct Portal".
  47. (2021-02-14). "How to Become a Precinct Committeeman – Conservative Action Center".
  48. "Become a Precinct Committee Officer".
  49. "Wisconsin Statutes 8.17(1)".
  50. "2021 Wyoming Statutes :: Title 22 - Elections :: Chapter 4 - Political Parties :: Article 1 - Major Political Parties :: Section 22-4-101 - Application; Composition, Election and Qualifications of County Central Committees; Certificate of Election.".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

political-parties-in-the-united-stateselections-in-the-united-states