Don’t Just Vote — Be the Delegate to the State Convention

This month, Indivisible Central Indiana is continuing its campaign to encourage our members to get involved with electoral politics at the grassroots level, by becoming precinct committeepersons and/or delegates to the state convention of either major party.

Last week, we talked about how to file to be on the May primary ballot as a precinct committeeperson -- Precinct Committeepersons – Who is Eligible to Run?. 

This week, we discuss the other little-known “office” for which anyone who is a registered voter can run – Delegate to the State Convention.

In Indiana, both major parties hold a convention in the summer of Presidential and mid-term election years.  Most of the roughly two thousand delegates to these conventions are elected during the May primary – if people know about the opportunity and file a CAN-37 form with their county clerk, to be on the ballot.

Being a delegate to the state convention is only a one-day commitment (other than doing some reading in advance).  The Democratic convention will be on June 6 in Indianapolis, and the Republican convention will be on June 20 in Fort Wayne.

And here’s why it matters:  These conventions are not just events for listening to speeches and rubber-stamping a “party platform.”  These are the events where the parties select their candidates for Secretary of State, Treasurer, and Comptroller.  That’s right … the candidates for the statewide offices at the top of the ballot are not selected by the voters in the May primary.  They are chosen by the parties at these conventions.

This is an incredibly important opportunity, for members of either party who are concerned that their parties are more responsive to special interests and their own self-preservation than to the general public.  We can complain about it … or we can take action, and be the party we want to see.

As Saul Alinsky wrote in Rules for Radicals, addressing the young activists who were devastated by the results of the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention, “Do one of three things.  One, go find a wailing wall and feel sorry for yourselves.  Two, go psycho and start bombing – but that will only swing people to the [other side].  Three, learn a lesson.  Go home, organize, build power and at the next convention, you be the delegates.”  [Italics in original.]

To be eligible to run for state convention delegate, you must be a registered voter in the county in which you are running, and have voted for the party which you want to represent in the last primary in which you voted. (And, in fact, if you crossed over to vote in the other primary last year, as many people did, you can contact your county chair and get a waiver to run anyway.)

Filing to run for these positions is now underway, and runs through NOON on Friday, February 6, at the office of your county clerk.  You can file in person, or you can download the CAN37 form here  Fillable Can-37 - Declaration Of Candidacy For Precinct Committeeman Or State Convention Delegate printable pdf download, and mail it in … but only after signing it in the presence of a Public Notary. 

There are no “financial reporting requirements” for running for convention delegate, or precinct committeeperson, and it doesn’t require any fundraising.  County parties may ask their delegates to defray the costs of the convention itself with a registration fee of $35 or so. 

Note:  If you are running for Precinct Committeeperson AND Convention Delegate, you will need to submit a separate form for each role.  It is the same form. 

Boone, Hancock, Johnson, Morgan, and Shelby counties elect their delegates as At Large candidates.  To serve as a convention delegate, you simply need to check the "State Convention Delegate" box and circle the words, "At Large."

Marion, Hamilton, and Hendricks counties split their delegates up into districts.  If you live in Marion County, you can find which Delegate District you live in here:  indy.gov: Election District Maps.  Just scroll halfway down the page and click on Political Party Delegate Districts.

For Hamilton and Hendricks county, of course, you can always ask for help from the county clerk’s office while filing in person.

Meanwhile, if you want more information on the process in general, please register for our webinar next Tuesday, January 13, here:  Demystifying Local Politics · Indivisible Central Indiana

Together, we can be the change we want to see in the world, and in our political system.