Are you a member of the GOP faithful, and can’t find the form? Or are you thinking of going to the State GOP Convention on June 7/8 in Pierre, and want to offer your voice as to what should be in the GOP platform, what resolutions should be in place, and most importantly, who the Republican party’s candidates should be?
Well, here’s your chance. You too can be a Republican Party Precinct Committeeman or Committeewoman.
I’ve had a couple of people – hoping they could improve the situation with the GOP at the grassroots level – ask me where the could find the form to be a Republican Precinct Committeeman or Republican Precinct Committeewoman. At one time when I managed the Republican Party website before they went to a new version, that form was available for download. Since I haven’t managed it for some time, and with the new iteration of the website, unfortunately that form isn’t hosted there anymore. Or at the very least, it’s a lot tougher to find.
So, I’m going to help walk you through the process, and post the information for you. Want to be a precinct person? First off, you have to be a Republican registered to vote in the state of South Dakota. And you have to sign a form. That’s it.
The form is actually available on the Secretary of State’s website, but you have to do a little digging. So, I’m going to bring it to you to download directly here. You can download the form in Microsoft Word at this link.. Or, you can download and print out the .pdf version of the form by clicking here.
Now that you have this form in hand, how do you fill it out?
It’s pretty straight forward based on how you filled out your voter registration address.
I, _(Write your name here)_, of __(your County)__ County, declare myself a candidate for the position of __(Republican)__ (insert party) Party Precinct ___(Committeeman or Woman based in your gender)__ (insert committeeman or committeewoman) for Precinct No. __(****)__.
Here’s where some might be confused if you don’t know your precinct. It’s actually easy for you to find. You can ask your county auditor, or on-line, you can go to the Secretary of State’s Voter Information Portal and do a search for your voter registration.
After filling it out, it will come back with your voter information, including your PRECINCT NUMBER. Use that information on the form. Continuing on,
My mailing address is ______________________________________, __________________________, SD ________, my residence address is __________________________________, _____________________, SD ________, my email address is ____________________________________, and my telephone number is ________________________.
All of that information is straightforward, and should be used based on your voting registration address. On Telephone and E-mail, that requirement was the most recent information added to the form, and it is required for it to be complete.
and furthermore..
I certify all of the above information to be true.
Print Name ____________________________________
Date __________________
Signature ______________________________________
Telephone Number _________________________
Again, very straightforward.
From here, we have a filled out form, which needs to be PHYSICALLY turned into your local county auditor before March 26th. Mailing should be sufficient if it will get there before the deadline (or send REGISTERED MAIL never certified), but many just drop it off in person. No e-mailing.
From this point, if your position is uncontested as many precinct positions across the state are, if no one else files, you will have won your election, and have won the right to vote at the Republican convention. OR if you have someone else seeking a precinct position, you will have a primary election on June 4th. Either way, the list of the precinct-level candidates can be found here, and it is updated live as forms come into the offices.
If you have a primary election, you have the ability to campaign for the office, and that’s done so to the Republican voters who reside within your precinct boundaries. You can put up signs, go door to door, etcetera to all. It may be as few as a couple dozen Republicans, or as in my case, I have 600 households, because the county hasn’t split my precinct in a very long time. So it’s a bit of a chore.
With that information, you are now in possession of the ability to have your voice be heard at the South Dakota Republican Party’s convention in early June in Pierre.
Don’t like how things are going? Never be afraid to be an agent for change.
make sure they read the job description first.