Precinct Captains

​Precincts are the smallest geographic units in politics. Idaho has 944 precincts varying in size from a few dozen to about 2000 voters.

​Precinct captains are ordinary people who work within the governing structure of the Democratic Party to elect Democrats to public office. Precinct captains are part of both county and legislative district central committees. Leaders elected by these central committees elect the state party leaders who, in turn, elect the national party leaders. units in politics. Idaho has 944 precincts varying in size from a few dozen to about 2000 voters.

​Precinct captains are elected by Democratic primary voters in May of each even numbered year. In between elections, vacancies are filled by a vote of the other precinct captains in the county.

​Find your precinct at www.idahovotes.gov. Your county chair can tell you what your precinct encompasses and what other Democrats live in your precinct. Information about your county Democratic organization can be found at www.idaho-democrats.org (under “Get involved”) or by calling 208-336-1815

​As a precinct captain, you will work with the other local precinct captains to set goals to identify and turn out voters for Democratic candidates. Being a precinct captain is a volunteer, year-round job. It is exciting, challenging and at the heart of our democracy! But you don’t have to do it all yourself. Form a team of Democrats in your precinct to help you.

Support a healthy party organization: Participate in setting and fulfilling your county party’s goals, attend central committee meetings, serve on committees and invest in your county and state party via their monthly pledge funds. Meet your neighbors: Visit with people in your precinct and find out what’s important to them. Share your enthusiasm for Democratic Party values. Find out which neighbors are open to voting for Democratic candidates. As precinct captain, you have access to a state-of-the-art database and you are expected to ensure information about voters in your precinct is updated regularly. Find supporters for candidates: Candidates rely on you and your team to find and connect them to people who may be willing to invest their time, talents and money to help their campaigns. Improve communication: Distribute flyers from your local and the state party (and create your own). Encourage your neighbors to connect to Democratic newsletters, web pages, blogs and other communications tools. Encourage them to speak out on the radio, in letters-to-the editor and in other ways. Host neighborhood events: You or others on your precinct team may host informal gatherings to build stronger connections in your neighborhood, share ideas and find new team members. During election season, you may invite undecided voters in your neighborhood to meet Democratic candidates. Turn out Democratic voters: During the final weeks of the election, you and your team will help ensure that everyone who has agreed to vote for Democratic candidates actually votes. Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) activities include delivering reminder flyers, making calls, driving people to the polls and poll watching. Be a good neighbor: If you are visible as a good neighbor and as a Democrat, you help dispel stereotypes of Democrats that some people in Idaho have. Some precinct captains like to put signs in their yard or window so that when another Democrat moves in, they know they are welcome.