On Saturday in Georgia, the Republican Party is hosting Precinct meetings for counties with a population of 80,000 and above.  Here are 13 things you may or may not already know about Precinct Meetings:

1. The purpose of the Precinct Meeting is to elect delegates and alternates for the County Convention, which will be held in March.
2. Precinct meetings truly are a grassroots way of getting involved in politics.  It shows that all politics are local. 
3. In a Presidential Election Year, at the County Convention, delegates and alternates will be elected for both the District Convention and the State Convention. 
4. At the District and State Conventions in 2008, delegates and alternates will be elected for the Republican National Convention.
5. Delegates to the RNC will be casting votes for the Presidential Nominee, which will not be official until the actual Convention.  Delegates to the RNC also do some other business and apparently a lot of partying.
6. Be prepared to list your neighbors who are Republican and might want to participate in a County Convention.
7. All the Precinct Meetings start at 10:00 AM sharp.  If you are late, you can watch but you cannot participate.
8. Mr. Right and I were rushed into our very first precinct meeting from the parking lot with only 60 seconds to spare.
9. A precinct is all the people who vote at a particular location.  If you vote at ABC Elementary School, then you are in the precinct with all the other people who vote at ABC Elementary.
10. There is a lot of paperwork that has to be filled out at Precinct Meetings and Conventions.  A Lot!  One time, Mr. Right and I were up until 1:00 AM the night before the Precinct Meeting, arrived at the meeting at 8:00 AM to setup and then did not get home to go to sleep until 4:30 AM on Sunday morning.  We were exhausted but we got all the paperwork done!  I hardly ever pulled all-nighters in college so I cannot believe that I have pulled all-nighters for volunteer work after college.  For work? Ok, at least I was getting paid.  Volunteer work?  I admit, I’m a little crazy!  Through those crazy long hours, we have made friends that will last a lifetime.  (LP, I’m talking about you!)
11. Three out of four years, there are Precinct Meetings and a “Convention Cycle” in Georgia. 
12. In non-Presidential Election years, Party Leadership is elected during the “Convention Cycle”.  More on that next year!
13. All of this starts Saturday of this weekend in Georgia.

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