State Party Structure Assignment Paper
State Party Structure
Order Instructions:
Topic: State Party Structure
Thread:
—First, review the lecture about the structure of the Republican Party in Virginia as an example. Select 1 of the major parties in your state to study. Because this was already discussed in the presentation, do not base your discussion on the Republican Party of Virginia. If you live in Virginia, you may examine the Democratic Party of Virginia or you may adopt another state and study its party structure. For example, a Virginia resident could study the Republican Party of North Dakota or Missouri, or any other state except Virginia.
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—Second, locate the website for your political party. Use a search engine to find the address. If you are unsuccessful, contact an elected official of that party and ask for help in locating it. Once you have located the party website, determine how much you can learn from it.
—Third, collect the information to answer the following questions:
–What is the structure of the state party?
–Does the website contain the legal document governing the party similar to the Party Plan of the Republican Party of Virginia?
–How does the party choose its state officers?
–How is the party organized locally?
–How can an interested person become a member of the local party committee?
–What other types of information are contained in the website?
–If the website does not have sufficient information, a phone call to a member of the local party can provide this information. You can obtain the names of local party officials from state party headquarters.
—Fourth, organize this information into an essay and submit it. Include the correct citation of the party’s website.
SAMPLE ANSWER
The organization of major political parties in the United States i.e. Democrats and Republicans is generally at the national, state, and local (usually county/precinct) levels. In this case, the structure of state party to be considered is that of the Republican Party of Texas. The structure of the Republican Party of Texas consists of the State Chairman, State Vice Chairman and the State Executive Committee all of which are elected at the State Convention (The Republican Party of Texas, 2016). The party structure also consists of one committeewoman and one committeeman elected from each of the thirty one Senate Districts through primary ballot by Republican Party voters in Texas. In addition, the structure of the Republican Party of Texas consists of Ex Officio members within the State Executive Committee including the National Committeewoman, National Committeeman, Auxiliary Representatives and Party Officers (The Republican Party of Texas, 2016).
Compared to the Party Plan of the Republican Party of Virginia, the website of the Republican Party of Texas contains the legal document governing the party including not only the rules but also the bylaws. The party chooses its state officers through State Conventions where delegates representing counties participate in the elections (The Republican Party of Texas, 2016). The local organization of the Republican Party of Texas is majorly at the county and precinct levels where the structure consists of Precinct Chairmen, who are elected through primary ballot and County Chairmen, who are also elected through primary ballot and may be obliged to appoint County Vice Chairmen, as well as County Executive Committee comprising of the Precinct Chairman and County Chairman (The Republican Party of Texas, 2016).
For an interested person to become local party committee member for the Republican Party in Texas, he/she must be a registered voter and offer his/her candidature during Republican Primaries where party voters elect their county chairmen and precinct chairmen who subsequently constituted the local party committee (The Republican Party of Texas, 2016). The other information contained in the website concerns the party officers, election information/primary process, candidate resource, communication from state party chairman as well as information on various political party conventions (The Republican Party of Texas, 2016).
Reference
The Republican Party of Texas (2016). Party Structure. Retrieved from http://www.texasgop.org/party-structure/
