Precinct Committee Persons
The Power behind the Party

Precinct Committee Persons (PCPs) are the lifeblood of the Democratic Party. For Democrats to take this country back and lead it forward, we must all pitch in. You have the power to help rebuild our economy, ensure schools are fully funded, and to establishing a fair and just society. And as a PCP, you’ll have fun talking to your neighbors as we strengthen our communities together.

As a PCP, you are the most influential contact many voters have in making their decision making. This personal contact is a responsibility to represent clearly the party’s mission but it’s an invaluable opportunity to win a Democratic vote!

Precinct Person Opportunities

• County Party Voting Delegate
• Voter Contact
• Party Leadership Elections
• Other Leadership Opportunities
• Nominate candidates for Democratic vacancies in state legislature or county commission.

Becoming a Precinct Committee Person

Oregon’s election law authorizes one or more male and one or more female precinct committee persons for each major political party and for each precinct depending on its size. Individuals may represent the precinct in which they live or an adjacent precinct within the same county.

Party members may file for election as precinct committee persons in the May Primary Election or may be write-in candidates. To be elected they must have been a party member since the previous September. Vacancies may be filled by appointment between elections.

County Central Committee

The Democratic Central Committee in each county is authorized to make all decisions relating to the Democratic Party in each county. In most counties, meetings are held monthly. Precinct Committee Persons are the voting members. All meetings are open to the public, and guests are encouraged to participate.

Special Meetings

• Organization meeting – elect County Central Committee Officers, and Delegates to the State Central Committee, November or December, even numbered years.
• Congressional District Meetings to elect delegates to the Democratic National Presidential Convention, June 2004, 2008.

Voter Contact

At important times, each PCP should contact the voters in the assigned precinct, by phone or door to door. Establish a personal relationship with the voters in your precinct. Provide these voters with information on the Democratic Party and its candidates. And provide the party and candidates with feedback from the voters.

There is a wide range of activity levels among precinct committee persons. Some of the things precinct committee persons do include: contact voters before the primary; general or special election; gather signatures for ballot measures; provide information on issues; lobby elected officials with phone calls, letters, postcards, or petitions; ask voters’ opinions and share yours.

Other important you can do…

Register voters
Identify people to lobby elected officials
Identify high school students’ 18th birthdays
Recruit volunteers
Solicit small donations
Provide tax credit information
Get voters’ phone numbers and email
addresses
Make a special effort in nursing homes

Other Ways to Contact Voters

Have an open house, party, spaghetti dinner, candidates’ forum, or political video party for voters in your precinct or neighborhood.

Act as a resource whom voters in your precinct can contact for assistance.

Instead of contacting hundreds of households yourself, ask some of the voters in your precinct to contact 5 or 10 people each. You must give them a list of voters and a script.

Useful Statements:

“I appreciate your voting because your vote gives you a say in the welfare of our community. If you care to know how I’m going to vote, I’ve given this quite a bit of study and I’m voting . . .”

“Please encourage everyone you know to register and vote. Remember the election is . . .”

“I don’t know where the candidate stands on that issue, but let me write down your question. I’ll pass it on to the campaign and they’ll get back to you.”

Other Leadership Opportunities

Democratic Precinct Committee Persons are also involved in a variety of Party activities which are open to all Democrats. These include working for candidates, Election Day Get-Out-the-Vote, County and State Platform Conventions, county and state fair booths, staffing headquarters, donating money to the party and to candidates.

We Need You

If you are interested in becoming a precinct committee person, or if you are already a precinct committee person and need a voter list or something else to help you do your job, contact your county Democratic Party, or the Democratic Party of Oregon.

Resource Check List:

Precinct map
Voter list, walking order with phone numbers
Literature to hand out
Voter registration forms
List of elected officials
Tax credit information
Calendar
Local contact numbers for public services
County Central Committee bylaws
Contact information for Democratic leaders

Voter Registration in Oregon

You may register to vote in Oregon if:

1. You are a citizen of the United States
2. You will be 18 or older on Election Day
3. You are a resident of Oregon

• You must register if your residence address, mailing address, or name changes
• Registration cards must be received by the County Elections office by 5 pm or postmarked by midnight the 3rd Tuesday before the election.
• Registered voters who have moved within Oregon may reregister by the 2nd Monday before Election Day and vote at their new precinct. They may reregister after that, to vote in a statewide and federal elections only.
• People who become 18 on or before Election Day may register 60 days before the election.
• You cannot change party affiliation after the 46th day before the primary election.
• Convicted felons may register and vote after they are paroled or released.
• Homeless citizens may register and vote.
• A Voter may request his or her residence address be secret.
• Handicapped citizens may vote unless declared mentally incompetent by a court.
• If you lose, misplace, or destroy your ballot, you may receive a duplicate by calling your county elections office.
• You may arrange to have your ballot mailed to you at an alternative address.

This information was retrieved from a brochure paid for by the Democratic Party of Oregon
which states that it was not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

Democratic Party of Oregon
232 NE 9th Ave, Portland, OR 97232
503-224-8200
http://www.dpo.org

Print the two-sided tri-fold brochure.