Precinct Chair Training

Precinct Chair Training Tom Solomon May 11, 2013 Democratic Party of Bernalillo County, New Mexico 1

Precinct Chair Training - Agenda Geography - Abq-NM House District Maps The NM Democratic Party Structure Definition of Precincts and Wards What is the Job of a Precinct Chair? Your resources as a precinct chair Building a precinct team from scratch Sample docs to help getting started Crafting your personal story Schedule of upcoming events Backup Tom Solomon 2

NM House Districts Greater Abq Tom Solomon 3

Democratic Party Structure As of 2013, Bernalillo County has 58 Wards and 441 precincts. Tom Solomon 4

Precincts Precincts are neighborhood-sized units determined by the State Government. Counties are subdivided into precincts, and every address within a county is assigned to a specific precinct. Normally the boundaries of a precinct do not change. There are 441 precincts in Bernalillo County. Precinct officers are elected at the same meeting as the Ward officers. Precinct Chairs must live in the precinct in which they were elected. By virtue of the office, Precinct Chairs are automatic members of the County Central Committee. The Secretary of State s office maintains voting data on all precincts in the state. Tom Solomon 5

Wards A ward is a group of precincts. Ward boundaries are designated by each political party and are not recognized by the state government. The Republican Party and the Democratic Party within a county may have entirely different ward boundaries, and they may at any time change the boundaries of one or all of the wards. In Bernalillo County the Democratic wards are designed to be within legislative State House districts. There are 58 Democratic wards in Bernalillo County. Each ward consists of 4-13 precincts, typically 7-8. Ward officers are elected every two years at ward/precinct election meetings attended by other registered Democrats within each ward. Ward Chairs must live in the ward in which they were elected. By virtue of the office, Ward Chairs are automatic members of the County Central Committee. Tom Solomon 6

Duties of the Precinct Chair The job of a Precinct Chair is to build an effective Precinct organization, involving volunteers in the political process & helping elect Democrats to office. We do this by recruiting volunteers, updating walklists, registering voters and getting to know the people in your neighborhood. Build a network of block captains Hold House Meetings Do periodic canvassing For extra credit, hold community service events to build the community and keep people involved. In an election year, Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV). Tom Solomon 7

Precinct Chair what it means Walking your precinct Getting to know your voters, starting with the Democrats, then the Greens & Independents (I & N). Get lists from Votebuilder. Talk to them, listen to them, find out what their issues and concerns are and how it informs their political choices. Draw them into the political process if you can. Ask the right ones to help you. Build your team w/ Block Captains Keeping the voter database current with names & contact info Getting yourself trained as a voter registration agent, plus others in your precinct. Register new voters! Being a visible source of political energy, information and leadership. Represent and articulate Democratic values. A precinct chair can be effective with 2hrs / week. Tom Solomon 8

Your Resources as Precinct Chair Assistance from your Ward Chair and County Chair (and your precinct team) Access to a Votebuilder account (via Ward Chair) Lists all registered voters in your precinct Use to cut lists of all Dems by precinct for a canvass or house meeting All Wards & Precincts are listed at the DPBC Web site http://www.bernalillodems.org/ Don t know your precinct? Look here: http://www.bernco.gov for your my voter information. Use http://www.signupgenius.com/how to manage your volunteers and events! Tom Solomon 9

P429 VoteBuilder Example Pull lists of voters Create turf maps and walk lists Tom Solomon 10

6 Stages* of a Precinct Stage Attributes 0 No Precinct chair or team, no canvassing, no meetings. No Precinct party activity. 1 1-5 Committed team members. One person willing to be chair. No block captains, no regular meetings, no regular canvassing, little or no GOTV 2 6-10 committed team members, including precinct officers, some canvassing (possibly just GOTV), no block captains, some meetings 3 10-15 committed team members with training (including precinct officers and some block captains). Regular meetings, some canvassing, good GOTV efforts. Not all areas necessarily covered by block captains. 4 15-20 committed team members with training including precinct officers and 100% block captain coverage. Canvassing is regular every 4-8 weeks, consistent meetings, excellent GOTV efforts. 5 20 or more committed team members with at least one person certified to teach canvassing training within the precinct. All officers and 100% block captain coverage, with backup captains. Canvassing is done at least every 6wks year around, consistent meetings year-round, regular events within the precinct, or multi-precinct. Excellent GOTV *Borrowed from the NCDP. Tom Solomon 11

How To Start a Precinct Team Hold a House Meeting of Dems in your precinct. Pick a date Use Votebuilder to create the list of Dems in your precinct. Draft an invitational flyer and print copies for all the Dems Canvass and/or drop flyers at their homes, inviting them to your house meeting. Use friends, family or 2012 campaign volunteers to help, if you have any. Do it alone if you have to. Hold the house meeting with an agenda and bring a precinct map. Discuss why you are a Democrat, introduce everyone, cover 2013 election races, etc. Collect all contact info on a sign-in sheet. Have attendees mark the map w/ their home address. Divide the precinct into blocks and ask for volunteers to be block captains. (they contact the Dems on their blocks). Set a time to meet again. Tom Solomon 12

Training Documents Ward & Precinct Training Manual Ward and Precinct Training Manual Precinct Organizing Primer (P569) Business Cards - Precinct Chair (Avery Template # 8371) House Meeting Flyer example Tom Solomon 13

Crafting your Personal Story This was a key technique of the Obama Campaign Community organizers use a short personal story to explain their political motivation and draw others in. A good story is drawn from the series of choices you made, some small, some large, that shaped your values and your path to this point in your life. Explains why you are politically active. Challenges you faced Choices you made Outcomes you experienced Write it, practice it, get used to telling it. Use it. Tom Solomon 14

Reasons for a Precinct Team to Act During election season: phone banking and canvassing for voter contact and then to get-out-the-vote (GOTV). To introduce yourself to the precinct and recruit a precinct team To gather nominating petition signatures To register new voters To influence your legislators, for example with a group like Organizing for Action To hold a precinct event fundraiser, block party, a community service event or a public demonstration Tom Solomon 15

The Democratic Party of Bernalillo County DPBC Web Site http://www.bernalillodems.org/ Subscribe to the weekly e-news. Contact info@bernalillodems.org Attend the monthly Third Thursday meetings: Plumber s Hall 510 San Pedro, SE, at Zuni Third Thursday of every month at 6PM Next: May 16, 2013 Tom Solomon 16

Albuquerque City Council Map Oct 8, 2013 Election: Abq Mayor Six City Council districts: 1,2,3,5,7,9 (odd #s plus open District 2) http://www.cabq.gov/council/council-district-map Tom Solomon 17

Upcoming Events May 16, 2013 Third Thursday mtg: 2013 City Elections May 1-31 Qualifying period for City Council cand s. Sept 10 Voter Reg closes, for Oct 8 election Sept 18-Oct 4 Early Voting Oct 8, 2013 Election day, Abq Mayor & City Council Dec 1, 2013 Mayor-elect, Councilors-elect take office More DPNM & DBCP info at www.nmdemocrats.org and www.bernalillodems.org` Tom Solomon 18

Democratic Values Democrats believe in fairness and opportunity, strong communities, great schools, investing in our future and leading the world by example Tom Solomon 19

Bernalillo County Wards & Precincts 2013 58 Wards, 441 Precincts. The typical Ward has 8 Precincts W ARD PRECINCT S 10A 93, 94, 95, 96, 98, 103, 104, 105, 106, 257, 258 & 278 10B 90, 91, 92, 97, 99 & 144 11A 121, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 162, 165 & 166 11B 161, 185, 186, 187, 196, 197 & 211 11C 122, 123, 124, 125, 131, 132, 133, 163, 164, 212 & 221 12A 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76 & 77 12B 43, 44, 49, 139, 142 & 143 13A 41, 42, 53, 59 & 138 13B 52, 54, 60, 140 & 141 14A 32, 33, 50 & 51 14B 45, 46, 47, 48, 61 & 65 14C 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 109, 135 & 225 15A 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 86 & 108 15B 9, 10, 418, 419, 422, 423, 448 & 601 16A 21, 22, 25 & 30 16B 23, 26, 27, 28, 29 & 39 16C 35, 36, 37, 38 & 40 17A 11, 14, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184 & 191 17B 15, 192, 193, 194, 195, 347 & 438 17C 16, 17, 18, 410 & 455 18A 216, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345 & 346 18B 101, 102, 214, 215, 217, 223, 224, 226 & 241 18C 107, 242, 243, 245, 246 & 358 18D 244, 251, 252, 253, 351, 352, 354, 355, 356 & 357 19A 271, 281, 311, 353, 381, 382, 383, 384 & 385 19B 282, 283, 284, 285, 287, 312, 315, 317, 321, 322 & 323 19C 254, 255, 256, 272, 273, 274 & 275 20A 295, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302, 305, 306 & 544 20B 289, 290, 294, 296, 324, 328, 331, 332 & 333 W ARD PRECINCT S 21A 286, 318, 326, 327 & 477 21B 291, 292, 293, 297, 329, 330 & 478 22A 555, 556, 557, 558, 559, 570 & 573 22B 303, 551, 552, 553, 554, 571 & 572 23A 19, 68, 69, 87 & 170 23B 2, 3, 78, 79, 89, 116 & 171 23C 20, 83, 110, 111, 112 & 114 24A 453, 506, 507, 514, 522 & 562 24B 463, 464, 465, 502, 503, 504, 505, 531, 532 & 533 24C 316, 471, 472, 473, 474, 475, 476, 534, 535, 542 & 543 25A 375, 431, 432, 433, 435, 436, 437, 442, 443 & 444 25B 401, 402, 403, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 434, 445, 446, 491 & 492 25C 313, 314, 371, 372, 373, 374, 386, 387, 411, 412 & 441 26A 31, 56, 58, 88, 136 & 137 26B 34, 55, 70, 119 & 120 27A 407, 420, 421, 488, 489, 490, 500 & 510 27B 426, 456, 482, 485, 486, 487 & 563 27C 427, 449, 450, 451, 483, 538 & 568 28A 480, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 521, 524, 525 & 528 28B 308, 536, 540, 545, 546, 547, 549 & 561 28C 304, 307, 526, 527, 530, 548, 550, 564, 565 & 566 29A 1, 115, 117, 118 & 129 29B 80, 84, 85, 127 & 128 29C 24, 57, 81, 82, 113 & 134 30A 400, 404, 405, 406, 408, 409, 439 & 440 30B 481, 484, 498, 499, 511, 512, 513 & 529 30C 461, 462, 466, 493, 494, 495, 496, 497, 508, 509 & 523 31A 424, 425, 447, 539, 541, 560, 567 & 602 31B 428, 429, 430, 452, 454, 520, 537, 569 & 603 Tom Solomon 20

Backup Useful links How to identify campaign $ donors in your Zip Code Search OpenSecrets.org for donors by zip code http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/search_donor.php / Includes donor data as reported to the FEC. Enter zip code in the box Download map of all Albuquerque Zip codes http://manzano.cabq.gov/gis/zip.php http://www.zipmap.net/new_mexico/bernalillo_county/albuquerque.htm Tom Solomon 21

BernCo.Gov Assessor s Searchable Map http://www.bernco.gov/property-tax-search-result-details/ One can find the owner of any parcel from the County Assessor s database at this web site. Possible to determine which homes have residents but no registered voters Tom Solomon 22

Precinct Volunteer Opportunities Organize the Precinct Be a block captain and keep in touch with the neighbors on your street Research local sites for places to hold Precinct or Ward meetings Plan a Precinct meeting agenda. Plan discussion topics for future Precinct meetings Build the precinct plan with goals and monthly benchmarks of progress Brainstorm and plan Precinct social events. BBQ, pot luck, movie nights, picnics, service projects. Bring people together, talk about common values, network, etc. Help engage infrequent voters. Write & publish the precinct meeting minutes. Keep a Precinct Journal. Set up contact lists for the precinct team (phone # s, addresses, email s) Offer to drive others/car pool to precinct meetings Obtain political yard signs to offer, as you canvass: eg: Pete Dinelli for Mayor Call people for follow-up notify of precinct meetings, events, etc. Set up and manage a Precinct Web Site Help set up a Precinct or Ward picnic or pot luck event to meet local Democrats Help with a fundraiser for your Precinct, the County Party or Democratic candidates. Recruit local business to donate items to raffle at fundraisers. Increase Democratic voter registration Help with voter registration (getting trained and certified takes 1 hour) Visit local high schools and register the 18-year olds to vote Monitor county registration rolls to ensure registered voters appear on the rolls. Follow up with county clerk if they do not, to get this fixed. Canvass or call the homes with no registered voters for Democrats who need to register. This helps build the relationship you are providing a service they value. Influence the community and your representatives Volunteer to periodically write a letter to the editor the editorial page is the 2nd most widely read section of the paper. Share with your neighbors the alternatives to corporate news sources, that tell the progressive story are not slanted to the right. Air America (AM 1350), MSNBC/Countdown, Thinkprogress.org, HuffingtonPost.com, Truthout.org, Commondreams.org, Alternet.org, Write Resolutions that could become planks to the State Party platform. Call your Senator or Representative about issues of concern - to influence their vote. U.S. Capitol Switchboard is (202) 224-3121 Help with outreach to local representatives. Arrange a town hall meeting to meet and question your State Legislative Rep, or City Council member. Canvass your Precinct Be a canvasser. Can start with door-to-door voter registration as Canvassing 101 training Be a trainer for other canvassers Canvass all Democrats in the Precinct to find other volunteers, kindred souls and update the voter database (Votebuilder.com) Get trained in the on-line voterbuilder. Do data entry after canvasses. Use Votebuilder to locate the irregular voters. Work with them to convince them to vote in the upcoming election. Offer them absentee or early voting. Use Votebuilder to uncover the single women voters/potential voters. Single women are the voting block with the greatest capability of increasing Democratic margins. They vote in low percentages, but they overwhelmingly vote for Democrats when they do vote,. Prepare for the next Election Get trained as a poll watcher, poll worker or Precinct Election judge Find out who wants to vote by absentee ballot. Distribute those in 2010. Find out who may need help getting to the polls. Prepare volunteers. Volunteer to run for office! City Council, State Representative, etc. Get further training as a Democratic Activist by attending the on-line teleconference training available at wwwdemocracyforamerica.com http://www.dfalink.com Tom Solomon 23

Ideas for Ward Functions Yard sale for fundraising Organize in support of a hot topical issue Pick an existing community service organization and volunteer to help, like Ronald McDonald House, Casa Esperanza, etc A day to fix up party headquarters Visit NM legislature to lobby for Democratic issues Set up a voter registration event Catalog and organize existing progressive groups, list their contact information. Fundraising to send a community lobbyist to Wash DC Cleaning up a park or other community space Building a community garden Collect food or funds to help a food bank (Roadrunner) Create a Letter to the Editor group Persuade people or groups we know of to be part of the Democratic party Find a way to connect groups Public version of the enews. Periodic newsletter blast, 2-3 items focusing on current hot issues. Party would offer some type of support. Tom Solomon 24

Example Canvassing Goals Find out what topics your voters care about. Build on these to promote Democratic solutions and involvement. Find out which voters may have issues voting for Democrats. Find what those issues are and discuss them, conveying the clear Democratic message. Provide information to correct misperceptions. Help your voters! Find out which residents have others in the household who need to register to vote (eg newly 18) may need to vote by absentee ballot may need help getting to the polls Use Votebuilder to uncover the irregular voters. Work with them to convince them to vote in the upcoming election. Inform voters of alternatives to right wing media: AM1350, MSNBC TRMS, Thinkprogress.org, HuffingtonPost.com, Truthout.org, Alternet.org, Use Votebuilder to uncover single women voters. Single women voters are the voting block with the greatest capability of increasing Democratic margins. They vote in low percentages, but they overwhelmingly vote for Democrats when they do vote. Tom Solomon 25

The NM Democratic Party how it works The State Central Committee is the governing body of the Democratic Party of New Mexico (the official name). In odd numbered years members of the State Central Committee are chosen in a series of meetings starting with Ward Meetings, continuing with meetings of County Central Committees and finally with a meeting of the State Central Committee. The State Chair initiates the process by issuing a Call to the county Chairs who in turn issue a Call to all Democrats to attend the Ward Meetings. This Call sets the date and place and is published in a local newspaper. Democrats must be present at the meetings (Ward, County and State Central) to vote. Nominations are taken from the floor. There are no term limits. The State Central Committee then elects State Officers in April-May. These are: State Chair Person Vice Chair-Person at large, who shall be of the opposite sex of the Chair Person and shall serve on the Democratic National Committee Two additional Vice-Chair Persons, who shall be of opposite sex, from each Congressional District Secretary, Treasurer Officers serve for two years. Tom Solomon 26

The NM Democratic Party how it works. The State Central Committee The State Central Committee is composed of the following: The Chair Person and the First Vice-Chair Person of each county, Additional representatives from each county, of one member for each 1000 votes above 1500 votes cast in that county in the last presidential or gubernatorial election Example: in 2004 Bernalillo County cast 132,404 votes for John Kerry entitling Bernalillo County 113 seats on the State Central Committee). Additional members appointed by the State Chair Person to achieve equal numbers of men and women on the State Central Committee, Member of the Democratic National Committee, the State Chair Person, Vice- Chair Persons, Secretary and Treasure, Two members from each of the New Mexico Senate and House of Representatives, Two members of the New Mexico Young Democrats, Two members of the New Mexico Democratic Women, One member of the Native American Caucus The following Democratic elected officials: Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, US Senators, US Representatives. Tom Solomon 27

The NM Democratic Party how it works. How officials are nominated In even numbered years, the Democratic Party of New Mexico holds Ward Meetings, County Conventions and a State Pre-Primary Convention to nominate candidates for the primary election and adopt a platform. Presidential Election years the Democratic Party holds a separate meeting to elect delegates for the National Convention. The State Central Committee has the power to fill any vacancy on the Democratic Party ticket. Tom Solomon 28

The Bernalillo County Democratic Party The Bernalillo County Democratic Party The Bernalillo County Democratic Party operates under rules (14 pages plus appendices) that follow the requirements of the New Mexico Democratic Party. The County Central Committee is the governing body of the Bernalillo County Central Committee In odd numbered years the Bernalillo County Democratic Party holds Ward Meetings to elect members of the Bernalillo County Central Committee which will consist of: All Ward Chairs, All Precinct Chairs, Additional members elected proportionately from each precinct on the basis of one Committee person per 200 votes cast in the ward for the Democratic candidate for president or governor in the most recent general election. Example if a Ward has 3 precincts and casts 400 votes from each precinct for Senator Kerry, the Ward meeting will elect 6 additional members to the Bernalillo Central Committee. As stated above, a Call is issued by the County Chair setting the date and place of the Ward Meetings and the County Meeting. Democrats must be at the meeting to vote. There are no proxies. There are no term limits. Nominations are taken from the floor. There are 441 precincts, 58 wards and 21 Legislative House districts in Bernalillo County. Thus the Ward Meetings will elect approximately 650 members to the Bernalillo County Central Committee. (This example is based upon 2004 election; the 2008 election will mean about 1000 members) The County Chair Person shall issue a call for ward meetings. At the meeting of the Bernalillo County Central Committee, members will elect: County Chair, First Vice Chair, Second Vice Chair, (need gender balance), Secretary, Treasurer. In even numbered years County Conventions shall be held to elect delegates to the State Convention. Tom Solomon 29