The Democratic Party: built from your neighborhood all the way up to D.C.
Ever wonder how the party is formed? Every four years we organize to elect party leaders to make sure we’re doing the work to get Democrats elected.
We need your help to make sure we get dedicated Democrats elected to lead the party; locally and nationally.
1. It starts at your polling place.
Finding your polling place.
Visit our Voting Information page to see how you can find your polling place. If you already know where you vote, then you’re all set!
Where you vote is where the Precinct Caucus takes place. Your precinct caucus is made up of your neighbors who also live in that voting precinct. You and your neighbors determine national and local issues that are important to you all. You also elect people to take these issues on to the County Convention.
2. Electing your county leadership
The smallest unit of the Democratic Party is the county party. Its leadership is made up of the people you elected at the Precinct Caucuses. At the County Convention, these representatives elect the members of the county executive committee. Here, you also elect people to go on to the Congressional District Convention.
3. Electing district leadership
Each congressional district in the state has a committee to help counties work together to elect Democrats to the House of Representatives in Congress.
It’s made up of people from each of the counties in the district. At the Congressional District Convention, you elect people to go on to the State Convention, and people to represent the district at the Democratic National Convention.
This is also where the issues you discussed with your neighbors are brought up and added to the party platform.
4. Electing the State party leadership
At the State Convention, the leadership committee for the Democratic Party of Mississippi is elected. It’s made up of people selected at Mississippi’s four Congressional District Conventions. At this convention, you also elect people for the Democratic National Committee which is the leadership body for the national party.
The issues you discussed with your friends and neighbors at the Precinct Caucus are put together to make the State’s party platform.
5. Building the national party
Every four years, the national party holds the Democratic National Convention. It’s usually televised because the party selects its candidate for President of the United States at this convention.
What often isn’t televised is that this is also where the party builds the national platform for the next four years. The people elected at the State Convention and District Convention build this platform based on what you brought up at your Precinct Caucus.