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 A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

and the

voters Voting is the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representatives ...

in a local

electoral precinct A precinct or voting district (U.S. terms), polling district (UK term) or polling division (Canadian term), constituency(Indian term)is a subdivision of an electoral district, typically a contiguous area within which all electors go to a single ...

. 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 A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th cent ...

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 In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise Suffrage, eligible to Voting, vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted ...

and

absentee ballot Absentee or The Absentee may refer to: * Absentee (band), a British band * The Absentee, a novel by Maria Edgeworth, published in 1812 in ''Tales of Fashionable Life'' * ''The Absentee'' (1915 film), a 1915 American silent film directed by Christy ...

access; leading

get out the vote "Get out the vote" or "getting out the vote" (GOTV) describes efforts aimed at increasing the voter turnout in elections. In countries that do not have or enforce compulsory voting, voter turnout can be low, sometimes even below a third of the e ...

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 A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

. Positions of county captain have also been created, but are usually used for election campaigns rather than party organizing. In

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...

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 A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

, the precinct committee officers will nominate candidates to fill the vacancy, which then need to be approved by the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

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) ~ Precinct Organizer or Block Captain (Democrat) *Connecticut – Town Committeeman *Delaware – City Committee Member in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, County Committee Member in the rest of Delaware *Florida – Precinct Captain (

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

) 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

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Sources

Lincoln, Abraham and Don E. Fehrenbacher. ''Speeches and writings. page 66. Online Google Books. June 19, 2008.
Online. June 19, 2008. Political parties in the United States Elections in the United States