America”s Biggest Secret

Following the March 1 Texas primary, just after the polls close, small citizenry bands will gather in civic centers, private buildings and county offices. Ideas will be bandied about. Votes will be cast. And when all is said and done, they will have hewn the first planks of what will eventually become the state and national platforms for the Democratic and Republican Parties. The meetings are not secret. Nor are they for “members only.” But what is crafted there will impact the nation’s political landscape—for better or for worse.

This summer the two political parties will host their respective national conventions where they will officially nominate their candidate for U.S. president. At that same meeting their party platforms—an itemized list of what each party supports or denounces—will be offered to the delegates for final approval. What is presented on the national stage will have had its genesis in precinct and county conventions in which civic-minded Christians can participate, offering platform resolutions crafted from biblical stock.

“I call the precinct conventions ‘America’s biggest secret,’” said Skeet Workman, a laywoman from the Texas panhandle and former SBTC board member. “It is not taught in our schools that you can do more than just vote.”

Ken Lasater, minister of music at First Baptist Church in Bowie, said he was embarrassed once he realized how simple it was to participate in the conventions, calling it the proverbial grassroots involvement.

But until friends noted the existence of the precinct conventions, Workman and Lasater had no idea that civic political involvement did not end, but began, at the voting booth.

In the early 1970s, at the suggestion of their friend and then-gubernatorial candidate Dolph Briscoe, Workman and her husband, Don, attended a precinct convention following a primary election in Lubbock, where they lived and worked their ranch and farm. Although they have since switched parties, their involvement in the precinct, county, state and even national conventions has not waned.

Lasater said the idea of participating in a meeting that is foundational to the Republican or Democratic platforms can seem intimidating, but he found that was not case. For example, proposed resolutions must follow certain rules but are not so cumbersome as to be off-putting.

Here’s how it works:

Up until 2014 the state Democratic and Republican Party rules were similar. That year Texas Democrats chose to drop the precinct convention, opting to begin the platform/delegate selection process at the county/senate district level. Both parties hold their conventions on even numbered years following primary elections.

• After polls close March 1, anyone who voted in the Republican primary election can attend the Republican precinct convention. Notice of the meeting should be posted at your precinct polling station.
• At the precinct convention, citizens elect a convention chair and secretary. The chairman cannot vote on the presented resolutions except to break a tie. Attendees vote on resolutions and delegates that will advance to the county/senate district convention.
• The county/senate district convention is held the third Saturday following the primary election. This year that will be March 19, 2016. This convention represents a county or senate district and varies across the state. People wanting to participate in the Democratic convention must have voted in the 2016 Democratic primary or signed an oath of allegiance to the Democratic Party.
• At the county/senate district convention the process starts again—resolutions and delegates for the next level are voted on.
• At the state conventions—Republican, May 12-14, in Dallas; Democrat, June 16-18, in San Antonio—final state platforms are drafted and delegates to the national convention are elected.

The respective platforms will be the touchstone for politicians running for office within Texas and a contribution to what will become the national platform.

Civic engagement at the neighborhood level is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, Workman said. But too many Americans—most importantly, Christians—are unaware of the role they can play in the simple convention process. She said that established platforms and policies reflect the absence of biblical influence in the conventions of both parties.

Prospective convention participants looking for help in determining what should be addressed in a resolution and how to draft it can look to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for ideas. Resolutions passed during the state and national Southern Baptist Conventions can also provide insight for what and how to address issues of concern. Lasater said organizations like Family Research Council, Focus on the Family and Liberty Institute are additional sources when drafting resolutions.

Like-minded believers, from different precincts and counties, can work together drafting resolutions that they will then present at their respective conventions.

Reviewing the political parties’ state or national platforms can shed light on a convention newcomer’s understanding of where their party stands on issues and how those issues should be addressed from a biblical perspective.

For detailed information on the convention process and how to participate go to the respective party websites. Texas Democratic Party http://www.txdemocrats.org/act/be-a-delegate; Texas Republican Party http://www.texasgop.org/convention-information/.