This is part 1 of a series covering the Democratic Party in terms of things you need to know to get involved. An important note I should mention here is that there may be subtle differences from state-to-state, but overall things will be very similar. I won’t discuss specifics on a state level that will often be different, such as how to become involved in leadership. In this post, I will cover the structure of the Democratic Party, starting local and going national.

First, a bit on nomenclature. You’ll notice I never use “Democrat” or “Democrats”. That is because the Democratic Party is the more correct term and “Democrats” is used as a pejorative (as it emphasises ‘rats’). Democratic Party not only is the proper name, it more accurately describes the organization as being for Democratic principles. I would encourage anyone else writing on this subject to discontinue using “Democrats” and instead use “Democratic Party” or “Democratic Party Member/Candidate”.

The Membership – General Voting Public

The base of the Democratic Party is the Membership, currently comprised of anyone in the United States who registers (or where registration does not take place with voter registration, considers themselves affiliated with or has formally joined through another process) as a Democratic Party member. Unlike other organizations, party members do not pay dues to be a member of the party and are free to leave at will. It is important to note that despite this, it is still considered a closed entity, a private society if you will. The Democratic Party sets its own rules, for example. While many people support the idea of being a “Political Independent”, it is important to remember why political parties exist and what being a member of one does… it does not, for example, require you to vote strictly along party lines (although its considered improper to do so… since you are trying to get your Party to win).

The Precinct Leadership

Every person in the United States is a member of a Precinct or Election District (the Census calls them Voting Districts), which is the lowest governmental organizing unit in the country. Precincts do not confer any powers to them, unlike more formal organizations like Townships/Towns/Cities or other municipal entities. Some states may allow precincts to wield some limited powers or decision making, but otherwise it is a division of a County, Township, or municipality for the purposes of conducting elections. In traditional organizing of elections, precincts would have a single designated polling place *for that precinct*, usually a school, public building, or a church/community hall within the precinct. As counties and municipalities work to reduce costs, some precincts will combine polling stations for efficiency, and some have gone to Voting Centers that are not restricted to any particular precinct’s use.

Precincts are used by political parties for organizing. Individuals (or an individual) can be elected by ballot or county party executive committee to the role of Precinct Chair, Precinct Captain, Precinct Committee Officer, or Precinct Committee Member (or similar titles). Some areas have only one Precinct Chair, others have a Precinct Committee of two or more people. The Precinct Officers represent the precinct’s voters to the Party structure. If a State legislative vacancy opens up doe to death or sudden retirement of someone holding that office, in most states a replacement will be appointed by the Governor of someone from the Party the previous person was from, and chosen by the Precinct Officers in the area served by the legislator’s seat. As you can see, this can give people in states where Precinct Officers play this role enormous power, as incumbents often win re-election. The Precinct is the primary level we as Committees for Progress will be focusing on: getting people to take up their Precinct leadership positions and help coordinate Democrats on the ground.

The County or Organizing Unit

Most state parties are organized then by County, although some may organize by specific legislative districts. The County or Organization Unit of the party is the next level on this pyramid, and comprises the Precinct Officers and the Executive Committee. This helps direct all campaigns within the county and supports State and National campaign efforts. This is the next level of our interest, to get people into leadership of their County or Organizing Unit.

The State/Territorial/District Party & State Committees

Next on the list are the individual State Parties, Territorial Parties, and the Democratic Party serving the District of Columbia. Each one is largely independent of the other. Minnesota, for example, actually does not have a “Democratic Party”, but a Democrat-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party.

State level officers are typically voted to their positions by Precinct Officers through the Organizing Unit and/or County level. For more information on how officers are voted in your state, check out your state’s Democratic Party.

The State Party then is our next stop on our climb to the top: by having more people in the precincts on our side, we will have more counties on our side, and more counties on our side means more membership at the state level.

The National Party

The National Party is a union of Democratic State/Territorial/District parties from across the nation. Representatives from the States form the national level party structure. The Democratic National Committee coordinates Democratic campaign activities and promotes the Democratic Party nationally. It oversees the process of writing the Platform, that is actually done by the Convention and people sent by the states. It also runs the Democratic National Convention and coordinates National campaigns such as the primary/caucus races and the Presidential Campaign. It focuses largely on campaigning and strategy; policy is typically out of it’s scope.

Within the national level are other groups, such as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which focuses on House races; the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), which focuses on Senate races; the College Democrats of America (CDA), the student activism arm; Democrats Abroad for those living overseas; Young Democrats of America, the youth-arm of the party; the Democratic Governors Association (DGA), an association supporting candidates and incumbents for Governor; and finally the National COnference of Democratic Mayors (NCDM), which hosts the Democratic Mayors of cities and urban centers around the nation; the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), which works on state legislative seats; The Association of State Democratic Chairs (ASDC) which works to build stronger state parties through their state chairs.

However, that’s not the whole story. There are also caucuses, committees, working groups, Political Action Committees (both affiliated and non-affiliated), labor unions, and many, many more groups that either make up, contribute to, support, or promote the ideals of the Democratic Party.

So, in a nutshell: Party politics gets complicated.

However, let’s bring you back down from the mountain top back all the way down to your Precinct. You should know what your precinct is. If not, your County, State Secretary of State, or State Democratic Party can help you find it. Once you know what precinct your in, remember it. Also take note of every House District (state and national), Senate District (state and national), as well as any other political boundaries you happen to reside in, including special taxation districts. Make a list. Get others you know from the same county to do the same. (Also make a list of your elected officials while you’re there).

Why?

That is your list of where we need people: Precincts, Taxation District Boards, Community Committees, etc.

Becoming a Precinct Officer is one route to take, but it’s only one thing you can do and only one way you can be a part of this change. Together though, we can take back our destiny by taking an active role in our government.

If you have questions for us to cover, post them on reddit or send me a message.

Sources/Resources

State, Territorial, District, and Expat Parties: http://asdc.democrats.org/state-parties/