text: Become a Precinct Delegate What is a precinct? The precinct is the smallest political unit in the country and all voters in a precinct vote at one location. The precinct is where elections are won and lost. It is your neighborhood. You know the people and you know what issues are most important to them. What is a Precinct Delegate? The role of a precinct delegate is one of the most important yet least understood of any elected office. Precinct delegates to serve as a bridge between the Republicans in your neighborhood and the Republican Party. Additionally, each precinct delegate represents their neighborhood at Republican Party meetings. It is the active precinct delegate who wins elections for the Republican Party. What do Precinct Delegates do? • Help Republicans get registered to vote. • Take information on issues and candidates to the voters in your precinct. • Identify other Republicans, and recruit new Party members. • Help turn out the Republican vote in your neighborhood on Election Day. • Keep Republican leaders informed about the issues that concern voters. How do Precinct Delegates get elected? Precinct delegates are elected in the Republican primary every 2 years in August. Only Republican voters choose Republican precinct delegates. Each precinct is allotted precinct delegates based on past Republican voting strength. Your district or county chair will be able to tell you how many delegate positions have been allocated to your precinct. Precinct delegate candidates file an Affidavit of Identity to get on the ballot. There is no longer a petition requirement for precinct delegate candidates. A precinct delegate candidate can file with the clerk of their county, city or township of residence. (Formerly, all precinct delegate candidates filed at the county level.) Your Affidavit of Identity must be notarized. Candidates for precinct delegate must file their Affidavit of Identity form with their county clerk. The filing deadline for precinct delegate candidates falls on the twelfth Tuesday prior to the August primary. A precinct delegate can be elected with just one vote. (Formerly a precinct delegate candidate needed a three-vote minimum.) What are the responsibilities of Precinct Delegates? Precinct Delegates are the campaign leaders for the Republican Party in their precincts. After the primary election, those elected will be officially notified by the county clerk by mail. The notification will include the time and place of the district or county Republican convention, which will be held in August after the primary. Precinct delegates should take their official notification to the district or county convention to register with the convention credentials committee. District or county conventions will elect delegates to the state convention held in August or September. These conventions may also debate or adopt resolutions for recommendation to the state convention’s platform committee. The state convention will debate and adopt a platform, nominate candidates for Supreme Court Justices, State Board of Education, and university boards, and select presidential electors. What other functions do Precinct Delegates have? After Election Day, precinct delegates have another responsibility. Precinct delegates will convene in district or county conventions to elect executive committees and officers to serve through the next general election. There they will also elect delegates to the February state convention where new state party officers and a new state central committee will be chosen to serve for the next 2 years. Checklist to Become a Precinct Delegate • Obtain a precinct map from the county, city or township clerk’s office. • Find out the number of Republican precinct delegate positions in your precinct.