Precinct Convention How To

Voting in the primary is not enough! Only part of the Texas delegates to the national convention are chosen based on those results. The rest are decided by attendance at conventions, beginning with the Precinct Conventions. These are held in each local voting location on the evening of Tuesday, March 4, following that day's primary voting. (You can find your precinct's polling place here.) These are scheduled to begin at 7:15 PM. However, if people are still voting, the convention doesn't start until they are finished -- because those people standing in line also have a right to vote first, so that they too can take part in the convention.

If you are one of the record-breaking numbers of new primary voters this year, the Precinct Convention basically works like this: you all sign in by Presidential preference, then figure what percentage of that precinct's delegates go to each candidate, then caucus by candidate and elect your delegates to the district conventions March 29. You can also adopt Resolutions on issues. As for the other fine points of process to be followed, we've got lots of help for you. The Dallas County Democratic Party is holding training sessions:

• Tuesday, February 26, 6:00 PM, Plumbers & Pipefitters Union Hall, 3629 W. Miller Rd., Garland, TX 75041.
  
• Wednesday, February 27, 6:00 PM, Communications Workers of America Hall, 1408 N. Washington Ave., Dallas, TX.
  
• Saturday, March 1, 1:00 PM, Central Jury Room - Frank Crowley Courthouse, 133 N. Industrial Blvd., Dallas, TX.

Both Presidential campaigns have also been holding training sessions of their own for their supporters, and have more scheduled; check with your favorite (see contact info here) for more opportunities.

The Texas Democratic Party also has some very useful pdfs you can view on line and print out and take with you:
ABC's of running a Precinct Convention
E-Z Math Precinct Delegate Formula
How to make a Motion/Convention at a glance
How to be a Delegate to the National Convention