Democratic Precinct Committee People Believe in Democracy

As you may have seen in the news, far-right extremists have set their sights on Arizona’s Precinct Committee person (PC) elections. Far-right nationalist Steve Bannon sent a directive to his listeners to take over state Republican parties, and now the most extreme GOP PCs are up in arms over a temporary fix that was passed unanimously into law from the state legislature. The AZ GOP is feeling the heat from far-right activists and they want Democrats to bail them out. Your Democratic House and Senate Caucuses are dealing in good faith with our Republican counterparts for any changes they propose.

For years, we have seen the Republican State Party become more radical as Trump mobilized far-right elements to infiltrate their PC infrastructure. With the AZGOP party chair mobilizing fake presidential electors, it’s clear that the Arizona Republican Party is hellbent on undermining democracy and taking their marching orders from Trump instead of listening to the people of Arizona.

In consultation with our legal counsel, we are confident that Democratic PCs can effectively use the processes outlined in the law, which is available in greater detail below, for this cycle’s primary election. In future cycles, the process will return to normal.

The backbone of the party

We have been in constant communication with our fearless County Chairs, who have been preparing for the changes coming for this year’s PC elections. We are grateful for their work and they have our trust in their ability to professionally and effectively receive our new PCs. If you have any questions about your county’s procedures, please reach out to your County Chair.

To avoid confusion, we want to bring clarity and facts to each of you regarding the 2022 PC process as is currently enshrined in law.

HB 2839 [https://legiscan.com/AZ/text/HB2839/id/2535633/Arizona-2022-HB2839-Introduced.html]  was passed and signed Thursday, 3/3/22 by Gov. Ducey for immediate implementation. It is a temporary change valid for this election cycle only.

What it means for proceeding this year’s cycle only and as of today: signatures are no longer necessary for PCs as the county party will use a designated form and submit a list of PCs to the boards of supervisors.

Please contact your County or Legislative Chair for County-specific guidance in terms of required forms and the submission process.

Our precinct committee people are the backbone of the party, who build and organize from the grassroots. As a PC, you are connecting with the people in your community, having conversations with people from all walks of life, getting them the information they need to be educated voters and protect our vote.

As we saw in 2020, elections are won and lost in precincts. President Joe Biden won in Arizona largely because of the hard work that our PCs put in educating and motivating voters. Please invite others in your community to join us in organizing in their neighborhood.

For questions, comments, or concerns about these temporary changes, please ask the Chair of your County Party or Legislative District by visiting https://azdem.org/county-parties/.

PS – If you’re interested in hearing more, listen to AZPM’s 10-minute podcast that details the origins of this issue. This line from the interview encapsulates the difference between our state parties at the moment: “In the past that’s actually worked pretty well because there was an understanding between the parties that, yes, they’re rivals in this election, but they are partners in this shared enterprise that we call democracy. What you’re seeing now is one of the parties taking a different view on whether they’re going to accept elections when they lose.”