Precinct Chairman in Tarrant county TX
Posted by jsg on Aug 07, 2021 in My Rants, Ramblings & Daily Updates
I recently took one of these positions and I though I’d offer a brief description of how it went. The terms are two years and I think run concurrently with the Congressional races. I am very new to this and have much to learn. This is an elected position, but I must stress that it is not a governmental position. The Republican Party is in essence a club. You must file to run for the position and if it is a contested precinct, you are put on the Republican primary ballot for for that precinct. If it is uncontested, you win by default.
I was placed in the position in the middle of the term. I found a precinct chairman via the Save Tarrant County Telegram page and she nominated me at the executive meeting. They have apparently had times where there were not enough Precinct Chairs in attendance to form a quorum to vote on those nominations. Last month we got about 30 new folks and I was among them. I am now the precinct chair for the remainder of the term and am eligible to attend the Executive committee meetings, vote in those meetings and use the title as I contact my representatives. They apparently understand that these positions can shape their future. I intend to find out.
In Texas we don’t register to vote by party, so we don’t have that method of joining with the GOP. We do affiliate to a party by voting in that parties primary. To vet you as a Republican in this county, they apparently simply check to see if you voted in the last Republican primary. In my case I hadn’t. I just had a bad day that day. I had voted in the last several Republican primaries and that was OK.
I still don’t understand all the ins and outs, but he PC’s elect the local party leadership and are instrumental in the selection of delegates to the state convention. Those delegates at the state convention select the state party leadership and select the delegates to the national convention. The local party apparatus is also responsible for finding people to serve as election judges who in turn recruit the clerks that you see at the polls. I believe that the local party provides any observers as well.
These are among the ways that we can shape policy.