So What Comes Next for Your Precinct?

We always hear that there were a number of people who showed up at their first precinct caucus and they have no idea what it is about, or they complain why we don’t have a Presidential Primary like other states do.  We think that there should be a wing of the State & National Parties that educates the party faithful and the curious about who Republicans are and puncture holes in the stereotypes of the party.  ~~ Publius Jr.


Caucus v Presidential Primary

It seems to have become tradition in St Paul Precincts that people will come out in droves to vote in the Presidential Straw Poll in precinct caucuses then leave before the business of the Precinct Caucus really begins.  This is because the local media, St Paul Public Schools, the National parties have not taken the time to educate the children, and potential eligible voters about what a Caucus is.  They don’t talk about what a precinct can do beyond the current election cycle.

Cau·cus
noun, verb
noun: caucus; plural noun: caucuses
  1.  a group of people with shared concerns within a political party or larger organization.  Usually a closed group.
verb: to hold or form a group

A caucus is essentially an exercise of the 1st amendment right to associate with like minded people.  It allows people from a specified area, or from within an organization to discuss issues and candidates.  A variety of things can be organized in a precinct and it doesn’t necessarily have to do with the upcoming general election.  Preference Primaries can be rigged to go a certain way, or can be influenced by recent news and the people in the precinct won’t have a chance to organize as a caucus would.

What should have happened in a Minnesota Precinct Caucus is that delegates and alternates, and precinct officers (Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary) should have been elected.  It helps to have at least one precinct officer and if you were one of 3 people showing up in your precinct caucus, you should have at least 3 Precinct Officers, then having representation in the Local Party Unit’s Full Committee can be a problem.  A Full Committee is made up of Precinct Officers and the Executive Officers of the local party unit which is either a Senate or House District.  If your precinct doesn’t have officers then it is hard to represent the feelings and ideas of the precinct.  The MNGOP Constitution is murky (we’ll have to check on this) on whether a precinct can elect officers after a caucus was held, so even if it is just temporary at least one person should become a precinct officer.

Presidential Primary is defined as:

a primary in which the voters indicate preferences for nominees for president of the U.S. directly by vote or indirectly through the choice of delegates to the presidential nominating convention —called also preferential primary ~~ Merriam Webster Dictionary.

In our opinion a caucus is better than a primary, because it allows a specific area to organize, whereas a primary can be hijacked by the opposition party especially in a state where voters are undeclared.  Though some people want to control a local party unit and make them exclusive and keep the “riff-raff,” out.  This is why we oppose Senate District formation in a city such as St Paul, House Districts have the potential for a larger number of people to participate.

Some people claim that caucuses are just a way for State & National Parties to update their databases.  This is unfair assessment of the process.  More people have a chance to participate in their area than if a primary is held.

Here is a link from Factcheck.org about the  differences between a Caucus and a Primary.

Precinct Organization

In no particular order one of the first things is to determine where everyone lives in the Precinct.  If your precinct covers a large area or there are areas of interest for a variety of reasons, certain people who attended the precinct caucus that live nearby can be assigned that area.

Know where your polling location is.  When it comes to door knocking, lit drops, yard sign locations, and phone-banking; knowing where to vote is important so you can inform the voters in the area where to vote.

Know who your precinct attendees are.  The greatest asset in your precinct is the people in it.  You may be unaware of the potential of the people in your precinct.  People are at different stages of talent.  Some people know how to do something well, and others are in the beginner or novice stage of a talent.  For instance the Pastor that performed the invocation may be a professional quality photographer, another might want to know how to do a wordpress website.  Others might know many people in the state party or local elected government.  You can also find out what they don’t like to do.  Some people hate to do phone-banking while others love to persuade people on the phone.

Ask how your precinct attendees want to be contacted.  Some people may have an email address but they might look at it once a week, whereas other people might live on their phone.  Initially a face to face meeting is preferred.  Yet to get the ball rolling a phone call might be best.  If you have a large number of people in the precinct perhaps a phone tree is best to have–find so many people to break up the task and have them call a set number of people so some people don’t feel overwhelmed with doing the work.

Have a Precinct Meeting.  The first meeting should lay down how precinct meetings will run, and how often they will occur.  It should address old business, new business, educational items, and some sort of entertainment that gets people interested in the Precinct and allows people to network with others in the group.  The entertainment can be combined with the educational portion of the meeting.

Determine Block Leaders.  There will be some blocks that aren’t represented well or at all.  You can find from state party databases who the GOP, DFL, and Independents are.  You can invite people from blocks to your meetings, or events.  Make them feel that the task they are assigned is within their reach, and allow them some autonomy once they are trained for the task of being a block leader.

**The Precinct Officers should start on these tasks almost right away.  The longer it takes to contact everyone, the quicker you lose your assets in your precinct.

Interaction with other precincts

Once you have your Precinct running, feel free to reach out to other precincts.  You don’t need to contact the House/ Senate District Chair to do this.  The next precinct over might not be as far in their organizing abilities as you are or not engaged at all.

The next step after the Precinct Caucus is to hold a Full Committee Meeting in your House or Senate District BPOU (Basic Party Operating Unit) to organize.  Full Committees are for the Precinct Officers and the BPOU Officers and anyone who wants to attend, discussions on the budget, events and such are held in Full Committee Meetings.  BPOU or local party units will hold Conventions to elect delegates and alternates to the Congressional District 4 (CD4).  The Delegates/ Alternates to CD4 can be the same ones for the State Convention which will select National Delegates.

Organize a search committee for candidates

This can be done at the BPOU level or even at a precinct level.  Not all candidates cover a certain area.  For instance in St Paul there are 17 St Paul District Councils that candidates can be elected from the areas that the District Councils cover.  In St Paul Bpous most of the time there is no adequate candidate search.  A proper candidate search would screen candidates to see what possible skeletons the candidate might have or if they are Republican at all.

Get Involved with Local Government

Too often if our team doesn’t win we go home sulking.  We do not remain engaged in local politics until the next election cycle.  It’s okay to interact with St Paul elected officials who happen to be DFLers.  You’ll make a name for yourself as being a person who helps out in their neighborhood or with local groups that need volunteers.  The biggest groups that need volunteers are churches.  Let people know you are a Republican.  Live your beliefs everyday.

Visit the City Council Meetings, Public School Board Meetings, other public meetings that affect your precinct and the people who live in them.  If you have a chance to speak at a meeting go ahead, but be aware that the local press are at public meetings and if your conduct is anything but cordial and respectful, whatever you said will be forgotten and your actions will be reported.

There are a lot of things that a Precinct can do, beyond the general election.  Our advice is to stay informed and be involved.

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