ORTL PAC Specialist
The excitement of the 2020 election is here. We are already fielding calls from many prospective pro-life candidates for office. Before you know it, the May primary election will be upon us. One thing that can get lost in the busyness of this primary election season is the importance of local precinct committee persons (PCPs).
A PCP represents a defined local area called a precinct that can include anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand voters. PCPs are typically the most active members of their respective political parties and you must be a Republican or Democrat to become one. A PCP has two specific roles that can have a significant impact on abortion in Oregon.
As a pro-life PCP, you would have a crucial influence on your political party’s policies regarding abortion, physician-assisted suicide, and other life issues. Last fall, pro-life Republican PCPs protected the party’s pro-life platform and added strong language opposing infanticide (Life in Oregon, September-November 2019).
Republican PCPs in Eastern Oregon have already chosen a new state senator and state representative and 2020 has just begun. In 2019 pro-life PCPs across Oregon were critical in the selection of three amazing pro-life legislators.
Here are two simple ways for you to become a PCP.
Run as a precinct committee person in the May primary election. This might sound scary at first, but I promise it is not! All you have to do is fill out a one-page form and send it to your county elections official. If you don’t know who that is, you can send it to us, and we’ll make sure to forward it. The SEL 105 form can be found at ortlpac.org/PCP. These PCP elections are often not competitive, so it’s usually easy to win. The filing deadline to run is March 10.
Get appointed by your county party. If you are unsure of how to accomplish this, please contact our PAC office at 503-463-8563.
There are many ways to be involved if you are interested, but there are no specific actions a PCP is required to do. We encourage you to pay attention to notices from your county party about upcoming meetings, and we will alert you if your attendance is of critical importance. We encourage you to seize this opportunity. You have a good chance of being in the right place, at the right time, to have an impact for life.
Hi, Reagan. It is too late for this election but going forward, how do we find out who the pro-life PCPs are? I’m in Washington County. On my ballet are the following choices for PCP: Mark Taft, Stacee Taft, Dory Borck, Roger Law, Jeanette Chaffee, and Toni Carrasco. My ballot allows write-ins. I hope my question makes sense. Thanks!
Great question, Renee!
Please send an email to pac@ortl.org with any voting questions. We do our best to answer questions with the information we have. There are usually a few pro-life PCPs on the ballot that we can encourage you to vote for.