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A Quick Primer on PCOs, Precincts and Political Party Organization
(Courtesy of the 27th Legislative District Republicans)
This article provides a very basic introduction to political boundaries and political party organization in Washington. It isn’t designed to cover all aspects, nor serve as a legal guide. For more detail, please refer to your local party and Washington State law, which govern most of what is contained here.
Political Boundaries and Party Organization
Precincts
A precinct is the smallest geographical political division, and is a subdivision of a district. You can find the details of boundaries for Pierce County Districts and Precincts here: https://matterhornwab.co.pierce.wa.us/publicgis/.
Precincts encompass a maximum of about 1500 voters, so their boundaries are often a little convoluted to keep the number of voters consistent. For example, precinct 27-411 in Tacoma’s North End roughly follows Cheyenne to 48th to Ferdinand, and Waterview to the bay. In the south, it doglegs west along 46th to Orchard, to 45th, to Verde, and then south to 39th, and northeast to the bay:
(Image modified from https://matterhornwab.co.pierce.wa.us/publicgis/)
The Precinct Committee Officer (PCO)
The voters of a precinct are represented by a Precinct Committee Officer, or PCO. This is the lowest elected position in the state, but a PCO is indeed a duly elected representative of the people.
There is one PCO per precinct for each political party. That PCO represents all the voters of the precinct to that particular political party.
A PCO is elected to a two-year term. PCO elections are rarely contested races, so you don’t often see them on the ballot, nor are there entries for PCOs in the voters’ pamphlet.
As a representative, the PCO should get to know the precinct well, bring voter concerns to the party, and through the party to its candidates and elected officials. The PCO should keep the voters of the precinct informed, particularly on local issues. Example topics include the effects of existing legislation on the local area, pending legislation and citizen’s initiatives, the party’s candidates, and internal party elections. Additionally, if a citizen is having trouble interacting with government, the PCO should assist in finding a service or contact in the right area.
Continue scrolling down to learn more
Districts
Districts are the next larger political division. They contain precincts and in most cases in Pierce County are entirely inside of the county, though there are exceptions.
The 31st Legislative District is made up of Buckley, Bonney Lake, Edgewood (partial) and Sumner. Here’s a capture of the district map from the Pierce County website:
Visit our Districts page for useful information on the districts our club spans.
The PCOs of the district elect the political party’s district leadership and run district affairs.
The district party supports the PCOs, and conducts community outreach and education. The district party also runs a caucus during presidential election years, where delegates to the county convention are elected as part of the process for selecting that party’s nominee for president.
The County Party
The county party is made up of districts (or sometimes partial districts), but is run directly by its PCOs as follows:
• All of the PCOs in the county who are in good standing with the party form the Central Committee.
• The Central Committee elects the county party’s officers, and has final say on all county party activities.
• An executive board makes decisions for the county in between Central Committee meetings. The executive board consists of the county officers, and the Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary from each district.
The county party supports the Districts and PCOs, and conducts community outreach and education. The county party also runs a convention during presidential election years, where delegates to the state convention are elected as part of the process for selecting that party’s nominee for president.
Among the officers elected by each Republican County Central Committee are a State Committeeman and State Committeewoman.
The State Party
The Washington State Republican Party is legally called the Republican State Committee of Washington.
The state party is made up of county parties. It is run by a State Committee. The State Committeeman, State Committeewoman and the county Chair elected by each Republican County Central Committee are members of the State Committee.
From its bylaws, the purpose of the State Committee (WSRP) shall be:
• To elect Republicans to public office,
• To attract voters and volunteers to the Republican Party,
• To lead, contribute, and participate in the establishment of a Republican Party organization that is an effective vehicle for setting public policy,
• To fulfill those functions conferred on it by state law, and
• To plan, organize, administer, and finance the State Committee’s operations to accomplish the other stated purposes.
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The East Pierce Republican Women's Club (eprwc.org) is a not-for-profit organization. The appearance of DoD visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Additionally, we are not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
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