Become a PCO

PCOs, or precinct committee officers, are the building block of the Democratic Party. They are the grassroots organizing base for all of our activities. PCOs are essential to Party work, because they personally communicate the Democratic Party message to people in each neighborhood across the state. PCOs also hold the responsibility of electing the leadership of their local Democratic County and Legislative District organizations, as well as representatives to the state Democratic Party. Leading their Precinct Caucus every two years is another important role of PCOs. PCOs are elected officials of the Democratic Party; they are the Democratic representative for their precinct. A precinct can be as small as a section of a neighborhood or as large as a historical "township", but precincts usually contain 200-800 registered voters.

To become an elected PCO, you must be voted into office during the Primary Election in even-numbered election years. The next election of PCOs will be held on August 7, 2012. You must fill out a declaration of candidacy to run for election as a PCO. Filing week for the August 2012 Primary Election is Monday, June 7th through Friday, June 11th. In order to be included on the August 2012 Primary ballot you must file a declaration of candidacy during this time. These can be filled out online. A list of links for various county auditors’ offices is included below.

If you miss the August 2012 PCO election but would still like to serve, there are options for you. 

If there is no PCO for the precinct that you live in, the chair of your local Democratic Party organization can appoint you to serve as an "Appointed PCO." To find the contact information for your local Party organization, click here. If your precinct already has a PCO and you want to get involved, there are ways that you can help. The Chair of your local Party organization can appoint you as an "Acting PCO" for a precinct that you do not live in. You might also want to help the PCO in your own precinct. Contact your PCO and offer to help them canvass the precinct, make phone calls, organize house parties, etc.

Some PCOs recruit a volunteer for every few blocks, so that when literature needs to be distributed or phone calls need to be made, the work is divided among many. Our goal is to have every precinct represented be a PCO, so it is essential that we have volunteers step up now to serve as acting and appointed PCOs in precincts that did not elect a PCO in the last election cycle.