Committeepeople - The Foundation Of Any Political Party

The Committeeperson Handbook

Committeepeople are elected by the voters to 4-year terms. Committeepeople then vote for their ward leaders, who elect the chair of the party.

The party chair or ward leaders can appoint committee-people, but its best that committee-people go through the election process, which requires getting a petition and collecting 10 signatures of Republican voters in their division to get on the ballot for the primary election in the spring.

However, candidates can skip that step and simply "write-in" their name (and ask their supporters do the same) on both election days (primary & general). It's a riskier strategy, but still an option.

You can request a "street list" of registered voters and their party affiliation from the Commissioners Office, so that you know who (in your party) to contact for their signature.

Philadelphia is divided into 66 wards, each of which is divided into from 11 to 51 divisions – 1,703 in all. Each division can have 2 committee-people for each party. Go to Resources below to learn more.