What is a Precinct Committee Officer? We find out

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - This election cycle, one obscure community-based position is getting more attention than ever before. You've probably seen several campaign signs around eastern Idaho for the position precinct committee officer.

The only issue is, not many people actually know what a precinct committee officer is or what they do.

So what is a precinct committee officer?

Think of any political party as a pyramid; at the top there's national positions like president and the national chairperson. Beneath them are all the statewide positions for like state senators and congressmen. Finally we reach the local level with precinct and ward committees.

"His or her main duty is to form an organization, with a platform...and be a liaison with those voters that affiliate with it in that neighborhood," explains Bonneville County GOP Chairman Nick Contos.

Essentially the officers represent your neighborhood's opinions to the community and in turn the State GOP.

"People bring up to us that they're not happy about a certain plank of the platform, etc.," said Bonneville County precinct committee officer Mike Colson.

"We can bring resolutions up to our state committee, men and women that represent us at the state party to be able to look at changing some of those, those platforms."

In Bonneville County alone, nearly 100 people are campaigning for less than 60 open positions.

48 of those candidates are backed by the group "Gem State Conservatives," 36 by the a competing republican group, "Integrity in Government PAC."

Delving deeper into this, the question remains why are these positions receiving so much attention.

Currently in the state GOP, there are several groups saying they're running to take back control of the Idaho Republican party from further-right conservatives like state party chairwoman Dorothy Moon.

Next week - local news 8 will dig deeper into how these precinct positions play a role in that battle for power.