Precinct Chair FAQs

Precinct Chairs are the basic building blocks to any successful political party. A Precinct Chair is the primary political agent of the Republican Party in that precinct.

Organizing and campaigning are important duties of a precinct chair and entails knocking on doors in your area, phoning into homes in your area and hosting events to get to know the people in your area.

Precinct chairs are essential for building the Republican Party. In addition to organizing and campaigning, Republican Precinct Chairs represent their home precincts on the Bastrop County Executive Committee.

Texas law gives precinct chairs limited official powers, primarily the ability in certain circumstances to fill Party nominations for office that become vacant between primary and general elections (such as the event of death).

While the County Chair is the senior elected party official in Bastrop County, the Executive Committee of precinct chairs is the governing body of the Bastrop County Republican Party and conducts all official party business. The Executive Committee meets at least four times per year.

Precinct chairs are elected by primary election voters in their precinct every two years to serve a two-year term. Qualifications are set by the Texas Election Code. Between Republican Primary elections, vacant precinct chair positions are filled by a majority vote of the County Executive Committee.

To be precinct chair, a person must reside in that precinct and vote in the Republican Primary. A Precinct Chair cannot be a candidate for, or holder of, elected office of the federal, state, or county government.

While the County Chair is the senior elected party official in Bastrop County, the County Executive Committee, made up of all the Republican precinct chairs, is the governing body of the Bastrop County Republican Party and conducts all official party business. The County Executive Committee meets at least four times per year. Read the Precinct Chair Handbook for details.

Precinct Chairs are political positions. They are not paid nor reimbursed for incidental expenses.

A precinct that has no Chair is considered vacant. Between Primary elections, a qualified person may contact the Republican County Chair for an application form to fill the vacancy.

The Bastrop County Republican Executive Committee’s Vacancy Committee will review the application, usually interview the applicant, and make a recommendation. If approved by a majority of the Executive Committee with a quorum present, the applicant will be the new Precinct Chair for the remainder of the term.

A precinct chair is expected to serve as an election judge in the precinct, or to recruit someone who can serve. The precinct chair also convenes the Republican precinct convention after polls close for biennial Primary Election.