Run your precinct convention like a pro

[sonias]

Great post on BOR with a link of online procedures too.

MarkCamann's BOR diary
Run your precinct convention like a pro
(snip)
This precinct convention chair doesn't have to be the "precinct chair" who was elected in 2006, or a candidate for precinct chair whose term, if elected, will begin this year on April 28. Any Democrat who participates in the precinct convention can be elected as the permanent convention chair. And, if you know what needs to be done, that could be you.

The Rules Committee of the Bexar County Democratic Party has created an online training session on precinct convention procedures. Check it out here.

Kudos to the principal creators - Zada True-Courage, Ian Straus, Larry Meads, Dick Waits, and Nancy Timmer-Froment.
:applause::applause::applause:

Zada is my SDEC SD member. Yea Zada! SD25 rocks!
:yourock:


Sonia

[sonias]

1. Delegate nomination rules at the PCT convention level

I knew that this was the case for the delegates nominated at the county/SD convention and state convention, but I had certainly forgotten that that was the case at the pct level too. Or maybe I never knew that. One more thing to remember.


From the online training material linked above:

STEP FOURTEEN

* The chair should announce that AT LEAST ONE THIRD of the delegates elected by each caucus must be WOMEN, and AT LEAST ONE THIRD of the delegates elected by each caucus must be MEN. (In some cases this cannot be achieved, leaving the caucus open to possible challenge at the senatorial district convention or county convention.)

Sonia

[efhmc]

2. From the workshop I went to, this was not the case for the

precinct. We can try to do this but it is not our job to make this happen.

[TexasThoughtCriminal]

3. What should the other third be?

:rofl:
Just kidding, I get it.
Why don't they use plain English: "No more than two-thirds of a caucus's delegates may be of the same gender."

[sonias]

4. Hey I just caught that

Your way of phrasing that is better.


Sonia

[flamin lib]

5. Thanks Sonia, I'm printing this and building a notebook for the

primary/convention/caucus.

[sonias]

6. The number of total of delegates your PCT gets

My understanding is that number is supposed to be provided to you in the PCT packet by the county party. But if you want to verify it you can. This training was for Bexar so every county is of course going to be slightly different i.e. where you get your voting strength from the 2006 race for Governor.

This is one of the things at the top.

# Five things you should bring with you to the precinct convention

* A pen. (Pens might be included in the packet that the precinct chair picks up from the election judge, but you won't regret having your own pen.)
* A clipboard.
* A calculator. (Unless you prefer to do long division on paper!)
* A deck of cards. (Chances are, you won't need it. But in the unlikely event that a tie vote may need to be broken at random, the deck of cards would help.)
* Find out how many people in your precinct voted for Chris Bell in 2006. (You can find this on the Bexar County Democratic Party website. Click on "Want to be a precinct chair?" and then scroll down to the bottom of that page to click on "Precinct Chair List." The answer is in the last column on the right.) Divide this number by 15, and then round to the nearest whole number. That's how many delegates your precinct will elect. The same number of delegates should be written on the outside of the packet, but in case there is a mistake, you will know.

I just took a look at my pct and based on the votes for Bell 1,549 and dividing that by 15, our PCT gets to send 103 delegates to the county/SD convention.

:wow:

Sonia

[crispini]

7. I think we're going to need a bigger boat.

You'd better get some phone numbers, LOL. :D

[sonias]

8. Really

I was happy if we got 50. How the hell are we going to fill out that delegation before the night ends. Even with phone numbers.


Sonia

[thevoiceofreason]

14. That is one big precinct

[sonias]

16. Nope average size - we're just good loyal Democratic voters

We always have a good turnout. We could easily get 80% of our registered voters to come out to the polls and with a contested primary it's going to be higher.


Sonia

[sonias]

9. TDP Party information

Boyd just sent out this message

Dear fellow Democrat,

The 2008 primary election is just a few days away, and Texas is buzzing with excitement over the contest between Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama. We are already seeing record turnouts in early voting and mail ballots, and we expect Tuesday's turnout to show that a record number of Texas Democrats are ready to take back Texas.

A record primary turnout will send a powerful message that our Texas Democratic Party is moving forward at full throttle, and if you want to have an even bigger impact, I urge you to attend your Precinct Convention. The precinct convention is the first step in our convention process, which continues on to the County/Senatorial District Convention on March 29th and the State Convention in Austin on June 6th and 7th. The culmination of the process is the Democratic National Convention beginning August 25th in Denver, where Texas' National Delegates will help nominate the next President of the United States.

The Precinct Convention is held at the same place where you vote in the Primary on Election Day. It begins at 7:15 p.m.(or after the last person votes if there is still a line). To be eligible to participate, all you have to do is vote in the 2008 Democratic Primary. At the Precinct Convention, you will elect delegates and alternates to your County/Senatorial District convention who represent your presidential preference (or uncommitted status). At the County Convention, delegates elected from your precinct convention will then elect delegates and alternates to the State Convention.

The order of business at the Precinct Convention is outlined in the minutes. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with this document so that you will understand how the convention will be conducted.

If you'd like to find out more about the precinct convention process, please visit the Precinct Convention Information page on the TDP website. There you can learn more about the convention process and download helpful materials.

I encourage you to get involved in the convention process as deeply as possible. Click here for a brochure that explains how it all works, and how you can become a delegate yourself. A Democratic Convention is an exciting experience and a terrific opportunity to meet fellow Democrats and conduct Party business, such as voting on Resolutions and changes to the Texas Democratic Party Rules. Even the rules that govern the primary/convention process itself are crafted and voted on by grassroots Democrats like you at the State Convention and your participation in the convention process gives you a role in charting the Party's course as we work together to move Texas forward.

But it all starts at your Precinct Convention next Tuesday. Click here to learn more.

The next few days will be some of the most exciting Texas Democrats have ever seen. Remember, you don't have to wait until next Tuesday to vote--you can vote early through Friday, and then attend your precinct convention on Tuesday evening, March 4th.

Your friend and fellow Democrat,

Boyd Richie

Sonia

[derby378]

10. One suggestion...

Familiarize yourself with the procedures in the 10th Edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised that detail how to handle troublemakers at the Precinct Convention. Learn how to handle minor infractions, major infractions, and those who just don't know when to stop.

Tensions are probably going to run high amongst some precinct delegates while we await the final vote tallies from Austin, so it's very important for the Precinct Convention Chairs to ensure that their respective conventions are conducted decently and in order.

One more thing. In between electing a Permanent Secretary and calculating the percentages on Exhibit A, nominate and elect a Permanent Convention Sergeant-at-Arms. You'll be glad you did.

[sonias]

11. Good idea

:hi: Derby

Sonia

[crispini]

12. Why would you await the final vote tallies from Austin?

What does that have to do with anything?

[derby378]

13. Nothing to do with how the precinct convention is run, of course...

I only alluded to the possibility that tensions and emotions may run high with some folks at precinct conventions. Some of them have put their heart and soul into their chosen candidate's campaign, and I respect that, but I don't want to see rival campaign workers erupting into open hostility at a convention. Probably won't happen at all, but if we have more than 50 precinct delegates at any given convention, a Sergeant-at-Arms might not be such a bad idea.

[thevoiceofreason]

15. I am not allowed to get my packet until election day

(I'm the new precinct chair (just moved) and the election judge cannot release until then).

Do the packets have the breakdowns for the delegation apportionments? Since my precinct has 19 delegates, I went ahead and did mine myself. For example, at 39.473%, there is a break between a 7/12 split and an 8/11 split.

Otherwise, we are ready to go.

One last thing. Our county chair says that because by state law "the media" is allowed into a precinct caucus, cameras, other filming or recording devices, etc. are allowed.

[sonias]

17. Congratulations on being appinted to the PCT chair position

It's normal for you not to pick up your packet early. No one can. All packets are only allowed to be picked up when the last voter in your precinct votes on election day.

And yes the county party is supposed to put the delegate allocation number on your packet. These are all calculated in advance based on your precinct's Democratic voting turnout.

I was just saying that if you wanted to find out what your total delegate number was in advance, you can do your own calculation. You just need to find out what the voting turnout was in your precinct for Chris Bell in 2006 and divide that number by 15. I guess you've done that if you know that your PCT gets 19 delegates total.

Good to hear that your chair clarified the camera issue. That does seem right. We are all the media.

good luck!


Sonia