Precinct Chairs

What is a Precinct Chair?

Precinct Chairs are the backbone of the Dallas County Democratic Party.  Dallas County is divided up into 694 precincts.  Each precinct is a member of a single State House, State Senator, U.S. Congressional, County Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace.  A Precinct Chair is an individual who has either been elected through a Democratic Primary or appointed mid-term by the Executive Committee.  A Precinct Chair must live in the Precinct at the time of their election or appointment, and will hold this position until the next Democratic Primary every two years.  There are no term limits for Precinct Chairs so they can run for re-election provided they still live in the precinct.  All Precinct Chairs, both elected and appointed, are automatically members of the Executive Committee with full voting rights.

What does a Precinct Chair do?

The primary job of a Precinct Chair is to identify Democrats living in their precinct and help get them get out to vote in the Democratic Primary and General Election.  Precinct Chairs may have the option of serving as an Election Judge, but being a Precinct Chair does not guarantee that one will also serve as an Election Judge.  An Election Judge is the individual who runs a Polling Location where residents come to vote on Election Day.  However, the primary goal of every Precinct Chair is to increase the number of people voting Democratic in their precinct.

Are there other requirements of a Precinct Chair?

Precinct Chairs are also members of the Executive Committee of the Dallas County Democratic Party.  The Executive Committee meets every quarter and is responsible for reviewing and approving of party business and issues.  Precinct Chairs are also responsible for holding their local Precinct Convention (Caucus) on Primary Election Day at 7:15pm after the polls have closed.

1. Attend the DCDP Executive Committee meeting each quarter
2. Hold the Precinct Convention (Caucus) after the Democratic Primary

How does a Precinct Chair accomplish this?

Precinct Chairs have a number of resources available from the Dallas County Democratic Party.  We will provide access and training to our online application of voters in a precinct.  With this tool, Precinct Chairs can identify other known Democrats in their precinct who may be interested in helping identify other Democrats or persuade neighbors to vote for Democratic candidates.  This is the core of grassroots politics.  Neighbors talking to neighbors to persuade them to vote in elections and choose candidates representing the values and platform of the Democratic Party.

• Recruit neighbors to help contact other neighbors
• Walk your neighborhood to speak with other voters
• Call other voters in your neighborhood
• Speak with other Precinct Chairs

How can I get help?

The poet John Donne famously said "No man is an island."  This is especially true when it comes to political activism.  The first thing any new Precinct Chair should do is speak with and meet the Precinct Chairs of areas that border their Precinct.  Precinct Chairs have a wide range of experience, and may be able to help get a new Precinct Chair started without having to re-invent the wheel.

• Help walk a neighborhood in a fellow Precinct Chairs area
• Invite neighboring Precinct Chairs to walk with you in your neighborhood
• Ask for another Precinct Chair to help identify volunteers in your Precinct
• Ask what worked and what did not in another Precinct Chairs area
• See which of these ideas do or do not work in your own area

The Dallas County Democratic Party also hosts Precinct Chair Training classes periodically during the year to help new Precinct Chairs get started, and also provide new information to existing Precinct Chairs.  Please check either the Community Calendar or contact the DCDP offices to find when the next upcoming training class will be held.

Who are the current Precinct Chairs in Dallas County?

Here is a list of current Precinct Chairs that represent the Dallas County Democratic Party.  By selecting the Precinct number next to each name, you can view a map of that Precinct from the Dallas County Elections Department's website.

If you are not sure what Precinct you live in, you can find your Precinct at this website: http://www.dalcoelections.org/voters.asp

Alternatively, you can see all the Precincts across Dallas County and what Precinct neighbor each other through at this website: http://www.dalcoelections.org/precinctma ps/precincts_34x44.pdf