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How to Run for Political Office: A Campaign Manual for Pennsylvania Candidates
( PDF of this manual)
Party Offices: City, State, National
The political system in this country is usually described as a two-party system. Although third, and even fourth, parties have developed large followings at various points in our history, the dominance of two major parties has been a fact of our political life. Currently, only the Democratic and Republican parties operate a complete system of local, state, and national offices.
The party offices described below - with the exception of ward leader, and city and state chairpersons - are filled through a popular vote at primary elections.88 Party officials must be registered party members, at least eighteen years old, and residents of the geographic area which their offices serve.89
City Divisional Committeepeople
The division (often called a "precinct") is the smallest political unit of the City, normally comprising between 600 and 800 registered voters. In 1997, however, the Election Code was amended to permit the formation of election districts containing no less than 100 and no more than 1,200 registered electors.90 The Democratic and Republican party organizations start at this grassroots level with the office of committeeperson. The registered voters of each party in a division elect two divisional committeepeople at primary elections.91
The responsibilities of a committeeperson run up and down the party ladder. Committeepeople transmit to the party leaders the opinions of the people in their division (their neighbors). This process enables the party leaders to remain in touch with the views of the people and adapt accordingly. In turn, the party leadership reaches down to the grassroots level through the divisional committeepeople to seek out and register new voters in the party, to provide a variety of services to voters, and to "get out the vote" at every election in support of party candidates. In this respect, committeepeople perform their duties year-round. Good committeepeople are valuable assets in a division, and at this level, they have an excellent opportunity to participate in local politics.
Current Democratic Committeepeople (PDF)
Current Republican Committeepeople (PDF)
City Ward Leaders
The ward is the second smallest political unit of the City. A ward represents a collection of divisions.92 Philadelphia was reorganized into its current alignment of sixty-six wards in 1965.93 Each ward is represented by a Republican and Democratic ward leader, who are selected by their party's committeepeople from the ward's division.94 Every four years, shortly after committeepeople are elected into office, they elect a party member to serve as their "ward leader."95
The ward leaders form the party's policy-making organization on the city level. This group is generally referred to as the City or County Committee.96 They elect the party's city chairperson, who supervises the full-time operations of the party office and also serves as the "voice of the party." In addition, each City Committee usually selects ("endorses") candidates for organizational support among those competing for its party nomination in the primary, fills vacancies when nominated candidates are unable to run in a final election, and nominates candidates for special elections to fill vacancies in public office.
Current Ward Leaders
State Committeemembers
The Democratic and Republican parties operate similar committee structures at the state level to develop statewide party policy, coordinate county activities, and endorse statewide candidates for party nomination. Republican Party members elect state committeepeople during the primary in even numbered years every two years (2004, 2006, 2008, etc).97 By contrast, Democratic state committeepeople are elected by party members during the gubernatorial primary election every four years (2002, 2006, 2010, etc).98 Both the Democratic and Republican parties apportion state seats on a county basis.99
A member of a State Committee must be a registered voter enrolled in that particular party.100 Moreover, both parties also impose certain additional requirements with respect to past and present party loyalty.101 The rules concerning party loyalty vary considerably and change from time to time, so interested citizens should contact their party's City Committee to verify the current qualifications.
Delegates to the National Party Convention
The major parties hold national conventions at least every four years in order to nominate party candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. These conventions are usually held during the summer immediately preceding each Presidential general election (2004, 2008, 2012, etc). Party conventions are dramatic events that often dominate newspaper headlines and prime-time television. Although the party nomination is usually determined long before the convention, party members utilize the setting to generate support, stir emotions, and gain media exposure for the party and its candidates.
In theory, the delegates to the convention develop the party's official platform, including the proposals and policies of the national organization, and establish or amend party regulations. Although local party organizations and elected officials have controlled the delegate positions in the past, there has been an expansion of opportunities for citizens to become convention delegates in recent years. The majority of the delegates are elected by the general public. Any citizen can run for election in the spring primary for a convention seat. Publicly elected delegates represent the United States Congressional Districts in which they reside and are elected by the party members of those districts. The selection rules of the party, however, can be complicated and are subject to change from time to time. They may contain filing requirements with earlier deadlines than those specified in the Election Code. Note, however, that Pennsylvania law requires that parties certify their rules for the selection of convention delegates and transmit them to the Secretary of the Commonwealth thirty days before the first day on which delegate nomination petitions may be circulated.102 In other words, the public may obtain rules regarding convention delegate elections from the Secretary of State's office in late December of the year before the convention.
Delegate positions offer an exciting and rewarding chance for citizens to participate in national politics, and a unique opportunity for party members to develop political connections within their party.
8825 P.S. §§ 2837, 2838.1.
8925 P.S. §§ 2832, 2870.
9025 P.S. § 2702. Note that since Ward and division redistricting has not taken place in Philadelphia since the 1960s, there are many divisions with substantially more or substantially less registered voters than the normal range.
91Rules of the Republican Party of the City and County of Philadelphia, [hereinafter “Repub. City Rules”], Rule III, Art. 1; Rules of the Democratic Party of the City and County of Philadelphia, [hereinafter “Dem. City Rules”] Rule III, Art. 1, Sec. B, C.
921992 Annual Report of the City Commissioners to the People of Philadelphia.
931965 Report of the Ward Realignment Commission.
94Repub. City Rules, Rule III, Art. 2, Sec. A; Dem. City Rules, Rule III, Art. 1.
95Repub. City Rules, Rule III, Art. 2, Sec. A; Dem. City Rules, Rule III, Art. 1, Sec. A.
96Repub. City Rules, Rule II, Arts. 1, 3; Dem. City Rules, Rule II, Art. 3, Sec. A.
9725 P.S. § 2834; Rules of the Republican Party of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, revised as of February 12, 1994 [hereinafter “Rep. State Rules”], Rule 2.3(d).
9825 P.S. § 2834; Rules of the Democratic Party of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amended as of March 19, 2005 [hereinafter “Dem. State Rules”], Rule III, Sec. 2.
9925 P.S. § 2834; Rep. State Rules, Rule 2.3(d); Dem. State Rule III, Sec. 2.
100Rep. State Rules, Rule 2.2; Dem. State Rules, Rule 1, Sec 2.
101See Rep. State Rules, Rule 10.1; Dem. State Rules, Rule 1, Sec 2
10225 P.S. § 2838.1
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