-By Doug Ibendahl
In 2010 there were a total of 6,705 precincts in Illinois. (That’s across the state’s 101 counties other than Cook County. Cook has a unique legal structure and neither political party elects Precinct Committeemen there as explained below.)
Of those 6,705 precincts: 3,440 had no one running for Republican Precinct Committeeman in 2010. That’s a 51% statewide vacancy rate.
It also represents a major lost opportunity for thousands of Republicans and our entire Party. It’s unacceptable, and it’s a big reason why good Republican candidates are losing winnable races to the Democrats in Illinois.
The Illinois GOP is not coming close to matching the ground troops the Democrats field every election.
The goal of the Republican Precinct Project is to reduce the vacancy rate from 51% to below 20% next year. In 2014 our goal is to have it down to below 5%.
Every Precinct Committeeman spot is up for election in the March Primary. It’s an all-volunteer position with a two-year term. And since this is a party office as opposed to a public office, the March Primary is the election. The Democrats elect their own Precinct Committeemen in March…
Read the rest at RepublicanNewsWatch.com.