What is a Precinct Chair? 

The Precinct Chair is the Democratic Party’s elected representative and leader in the precinct. Precinct Chairs provide fundamental services to party effectiveness. The main responsibility of the Precinct Chair is to contact, organize, and guide Democratic voters in their precinct. Precinct Chairs are also members of the County Executive Committee (CEC), which conducts the local business of the Party. 

How do you get to be a Precinct Chair? 

Qualified candidates are elected to serve a two-year term by voters in their precinct in the Democratic Primary Election. Vacancies can be filled at any time during a term by a candidate filling out the application and receiving a majority vote at the next meeting of the CEC. 

Qualifications: You must be a Democrat, 18 years of age or older, a registered voter in Travis County, reside in the precinct you wish to represent, and vote in the Democratic Primary election. Precinct Chairs cannot be a candidate for, nor the holder of, an elected office of the federal, state, or local government. 

What do Precinct Chairs do? 

Precinct Chairs are the contact person for the Democratic Party in their neighborhood. They work to become familiar with other Democrats in the area, to recruit and lead a ‘neighborhood team,’ and to promote Democratic candidates and events whenever possible. Here are the things precinct chairs work on: 

  • Organizing their precinct in order to increase Democratic voter turnout (note: this is the primary goal and responsibility for PCs, and there is training available to help with how to accomplish it) 

  • Motivating and mobilizing voters to get them to the polls 

  • Registering neighbors and friends to vote 

  • Serving on the County Executive Committee (CEC), attending monthly CEC meetings 

  • Serving on CEC committees 

  • Plugging volunteers into county-wide efforts and local campaigns 

  • Encouraging primary voters to attend precinct/county conventions 

  • Bridging the gap between voters and elected officials 

  • Assisting in recruiting election judges for Primary and General elections