www.PrecinctPeople.com
Dedicated
to helping you build a better precinct!
How
to organize your Precinct.
Congratulations, you are now the leader of your Precinct. From your predecessor, ask for the list of active volunteers and a map of the precinct, if you don’t have that information already. These items should also be available at your County Party Headquarters. Get a three ring binder and keep all your records together so that when you move up or on, you will have some records to pass on. Start using your PC computer to keep records and email addresses. Build an organization that will represent the will of the people not a political machine or dynasty.
Your goal is to build a precinct organization and to win on Election Day! You must be realistic. Rome was not built in a day! Your precinct is only part of the puzzle that must be put together in order to win on Election Day. You must define short and long-range goals for your precinct and your people. Make it fun!
It may take years to turn a traditionally Democrat precinct into a Republican precinct, if ever. Your goal for this year, and for every election year, should be to maximize the Republican Voter turnout for Election Day. That may be only a few votes gained out of the entire precinct but elections have been won or lost by only one vote!
Here’s how to do it:
1: Identify and locate the Republican voters in your precinct by canvassing the precinct.
Canvassing
the precinct is usually done door-to-door on a Saturday or weekday evenings.
You may also do this by phone. If
you have some volunteers, divide the precinct into areas or blocks and assign an
area to a “Block Captain.” If
you don’t have anyone to help you, ask your wife or husband or teenage
children, ask your neighbor friend or recruit as you go door-to-door.
Take a street or block a week. Pace
yourself but this has to be done. (Click
here for Do’s and Don’t Going Door-To-Door!)
You
can do this openly as a Republican or in the name of a “Non-Partisan” Front
Group Organization. Sometimes
people are more likely to talk openly and truthfully to a non-partisan
representative especially if they are of a different party affiliation.
If you are a member or leader in the neighborhood civic club, get them
involved, as long as you have access to the information collected.
The questionnaire could be worded to benefit the organization performing
the polling (they don’t have to know your real purpose) as long as the
information that you want gathered is obtained and its done in a timely manner.
Get
some clipboards and create a short questionnaire. (Click here for
sample First Canvas
Questionnaire.) The key questions are: “Name” (You already know their
address.), “Are you registered to vote?,”
“Do you consider yourself to be a Republican, Democrat or
Independent?,” “Are there any unregistered adults or anyone soon to be 18
living at this address?” and “Would
you like to get involved in a campaign?”
The goal of this canvass is not to register anyone to vote or turn
Independents or Democrats into Republicans but to (1.) identify registered
Republicans and Independent Voters, identify unregistered Republicans and
Independent Voters (We will get them registered before the election.), and to
identify potential volunteers.
NOTE:
Before you begin going door-to-door, contact the manager of the local pizza
restaurant. Tell him of your plans
to go door-to-door in his business area and ask him if he would agree to provide
pizza for everyone helping if you pass out coupons or flyers for his business.
It’s a way of putting some fun into the work and handing someone a
pizza coupon also breaks the ice for the questionnaire.
2: Ensure that these voters
are properly registered to vote in a timely manner for each election.
Now that the first canvas is done, contact the people who said that they would like to get involved. Invite them over for coffee to meet a Party Officer, elected representative or candidate. Divide the precinct in to areas or blocks and give the Block Captains the list of unregistered Republicans that live in their area. It is their responsibility to contact them and to see that they are registered before the election deadline (usually 30 days before the election). Start now because you will be busy doing other things as that deadline approaches.
To the question of what to do with unregistered Independent Voters? Don’t encourage anyone to register or to vote that you do not know is a Republican or will vote for our candidates or issues at the polls! Being nice and helping register just anyone or trying to show Democrats we are nice people does not help win elections. It only plays into their hands.
3: Inform these voters of upcoming elections, issues and candidates by distributing literature door-to-door or by mail. Start gathering email address when you canvass.
Starting the weekend before the election, depending on the amount of help you have, begin distributing to the Republican and Independent homes only the packets of campaign ligature the Party and candidates have provided.
If you have been collecting email addresses from the voters in your precinct, start a weekly newsletter on the campaign to email them. Keep them informed and motivated!
4: Deliver these voters to the polls on Election Day by a Get-Out-The-Campaign of phone calling and offering rides to the polls to identified friendly voters only!
The get out the vote effort is fully outlined on the “Get Out The Vote” Page.
5:
Protect the Ballot Box by proper and legal Ballot Security Efforts.
(“I don’t care who you vote for as long as I get to count the
ballots!”)
Click here for:
How some elections are stolen.
Inside the Precinct Polling Place on Election Day!
How to run a meeting or precinct convention.
Other helpful sites:
Strategies for Winning Campaigns and Elections
www.PrecinctPeople.com
Dedicated
to helping you build a better precinct!