FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BONNEVILLE COUNTY REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Date: May 2, 2024
Idaho Falls, ID --
Qualifications for Precinct Committee Officer Candidates
The Republican Party organization is made up of Precinct Committee Officers (PCOs) who are elected by the republican-affiliated voters in each neighborhood precinct every two years. For years now, the public’s interest and participation in Idaho’s republican party has been growing, and this year there were a record number of applicants to serve in Bonneville County.
As the current Chairman of the Bonneville Country Republican Party, I wish to publicly welcome all PCO candidates – new an old – as well as all others who seek an opportunity to serve the republican cause. The party is an entirely volunteer organization, and the more people we have participating in the party organization, the better the work we can accomplish. Each neighborhood precinct needs a committee officer, and also needs multiple assistants and other volunteer workers for subcommittees.
Questions about qualifications to serve as a PCO were clarified recently, and they boil down to two straightforward requirements:
1. To serve as a Republican Party leader, one must submit the basic “Candidate Disclosure” form (also known as the Integrity in Affiliation form). This form simply states that the person 1) Has read the Republican Platform, 2) Discloses any significant personal stances that differ from the Republican standard, and 3) Is not an agent of another political party. This simple form has been around for many years. Most candidates seeking Republican nomination or party office generally have no problem with this kind of disclosure form, and voters universally appreciate the transparency.
2. A Republican PCO candidate or other party official must also have registered affiliation with the Republican party for at least one full year before assuming the position of a leader and decision maker within the organization. This party rule, requiring a mere twelve months of affiliation, is far from strict, and sensible people understand the concept. Being affiliated with the Republican party before serving as one of its PCOs hasn’t been an issue. A check this year confirmed that only one PCO candidate doesn’t qualify.
If an unqualified person were to be elected – such as the person this year who only registered as a Republican on March 12 (the day before declaring as a PCO candidate), the committee is glad to hear of his recent conversion to republican ranks, and welcomes his apparent willingness to help do the work needed, but he won’t be able to vote on any of the Central Committee’s decision making until the ink on his Republican affiliation has dried for at least 12 months. *Of note, this particular individual has not returned any emails, calls, or texts from the party.
As always, many thanks for our friends and neighbors who volunteer to serve and form an official Republican Party organization. It takes a lot of work to organize and maintain a political party, but without the efforts of these volunteers, there would be no nomination for candidates to seek and no platform for voters to affiliate with. Great patriots sign up for this unpaid service every year because they care deeply about advancing the principles that our party stands for.
From the Current Republican Party Platform
ARTICLE II Section 3: We believe Primary elections in the Idaho Republican Party should be open to all people who have affiliated as Republicans at least one year prior to the primary election and who support a vast majority of the Idaho Republican Platform. To allow those who have no loyalty or allegiance to the Idaho Republican Party, or its Platform and Resolutions, to select our candidates is simply not proper.
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