Conduct of a Precinct Convention
...e precinct chairman will be the designated chairman. He will preside until a temporary chairman is nominated and elected. The nomination of the temporary and permanent chairman of the convention, as well as the secretary, follow a procedure which is usually all discussed and decided on in the preconvention caucus. Once the chairman is designated he appoints a committee of delegates to the county convention. Since the delegates and resolutions have been agreed upon in advance at the caucus, the committees work is simply a task of acting as a voice for the rest of the precinct. A few names and resolutions may also be added during the convention. Assuming there are no delay tactics at the convention, the leaders of the majority caucus may attempt to railroad the convention. This is a process of rushing the proceedings along at a rapid pace to prevent a member from raising issues about anything. Sometimes there is a walkout or a rump convention. This would occur when one party loses control of the convention or becomes dissatisfied with the proceedings. Another way to state this is when one party refuses to sign the party pledge to support all nominees of the party. This would have normally been decided in the preconvention caucus. When all outstanding issues have been decided upon, the precinct chairman calls the convention to a close. Texas has two major parties that are alike in organizational structure. Each has a permanent and a temporary pattern. The precinct convention falls at the bottom of the temporary structure. The temporary party organization is for the purpose of allowing voters input concerning issues and the selection of the party officers at election time. Party membership is determined by the process of voting. It is the first of many steps that is needed at the state and local levels to select our party leaders who in turn determine party policy. A precinct convention in Texas occurs every even-numbered year on the first primary day, which is the second Tuesday in March. Only a small percentage of each precinct’s registered voters usually attend. I personally did not even know this function took place if I did not take this class. The main business of a precinct convention is to elect delegates to the next higher party organization, which is the county convention. The precinct convention sends to the county convention one delegate for every 25 votes cast for the party’s candidate in the last election. In Texas, the precinct chair together with the county, district, and state executive committees form the permanent party organization. The precinct chairperson is elected by precinct voters in the party primaries for a term of two years. He receives no compensation. This position is the lowest ranking permanent party official. Duties include promoting voter registration, gathering party issues, and maintaining party harmony. He or she is also expected to be the party leader at the precinct level, recruit candidates, and get out the vote. The reality is, however, that the chairperson frequently does o more than arrange for the precinct convention and serves on the county executive committee. That is why he is referred to as both the precinct chairperson and the executive committeeman. Each party organization at the county level is guided by a county executive committee, which is made up by all precinct chairs and the county chairs. This committee’s course of action is to conduct the primary elections and to prepare for the county convention. The county chairperson is the most important official at the local level. After the primary election has been held, the county executive committee surveys the vote and certifies the results to the state executive committee. As a member of the county executive committee, the precinct chairperson may attend al meetings of the committee, has one vote on each matter, has the privilege of debate, and may make a motion. He or she may also act on all matters that come up before the committee. At the conclusion of the precinct convention, the chairperson with the assistance of the secretary must produce a written report of all the proceedings to the county clerk. This report includes a list of all delegates elected to the county convention and copies of all resolutions passed at the convention. I attended my precinct convention and I personally thought it was a complete waste of time. There were maybe ten to fifteen people and it lasted about ten minutes. By the time I got out my pen and paper it was over. I felt like saying; hey wait a minut...