There are three recognized political parties in Missouri: Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians. Those parties on the local level highlight what the true meaning of grassroots is. They rely heavily on citizen participation – whether through volunteering, donations or both.
Volunteers were busy at the Greene County Democratic Headquarters at Fremont and Sunshine just before the August Primary Election, stuffing envelopes and reaching out to folks.
Rachel Howard is executive director of the Greene County Democrats, which dates back to 1845.
"Mostly what we do is we offer support in whatever way we can whether it's supporting the efforts of the county clerk to get like election judges or it's supporting the candidates by having, you know, our office here and helping them get volunteers and doing that kind of thing," said Howard. "We try to be mostly a support system for our candidates, especially the ones that...who can come in here every day and, you know, we try to be as accommodating as we can. They can use our phone systems, they can use our printer, they can do all of that. So, it saves them time and money from having to like search for an office and do all of that."
Howard said they couldn’t do what they do without volunteers. She said they are the most important thing when it comes to making elections work.
"They are the people who go out and talk to voters. They are the people who come in here and bring us treats so that when people are out knocking or whatever, they're not suffering or, you know, like we have people who bring in bottled water and Gatorade and all of those things," she said. "Those are the people who oftentimes either because they work too much or maybe their age or whatever mobility, whatever it might be, they can't necessarily get out and talk to people, but that is what makes elections work."
The Greene County GOP has a fundraising arm called T.A.R.G.E.T., which anyone can be part of. It stands for The Association of Republicans Getting Everyone Together. T.A.R.G.E.T. hosts an annual barbecue – last September’s was its 65th – at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds to raise money for the party. And it hosts Lincoln Days. Besides T.A.R.G.E.T., area Republicans may get involved in the Greater Ozarks Pachyderm Club, Greene County Republican Women and Southwest Missouri Young Republicans.
Both the Greene County GOP and the Greene County Democrats have a central committee made up of elected committeemen and women.
Clate Baker, vice-chair of the Greene County Republican Central Committee, explains what those roles fill in the local Republican party.
"To support Republicans to educate Republicans to get...Republicans elected, to find good candidates for Republican positions. All those things," he said.
"I'm on central Committee, vice chair, and I'm elected for that...T.A.R.G.E.T., on the other hand, is the people that aren't elected are not necessarily the — be the same people," said Baker, "so we have a lot of people on T.A.R.G.E.T. that aren't on Central Committee but want to support Greene County Republicans, so they assist in the fundraising."
Cecil Ince is chair of the Greene County Libertarian Party, which was formed in 1972. He said, due to disagreements within the party, the local Libertarians ceased being active around 10 years ago. Now, he’s trying to bring it back.
"I stepped back up to the plate because there was a vacuum, and I had been deeply involved in insurance in the Green County Libertarian Party since 2000 and had served as webmaster and secretary and treasurer and now as chair, appointed interim by the state chair Dustin Coffel," said Ince. "And then, as a result of the primary, as the only committeeman, I'm by default, the chair of the county."
Rachel Howard explains the main role of the Greene County Democratic Central Committee.
"The main purpose is for it to be the party apparatus in the county," she said. "They're the ones that are supposed to be doing the precinct captain work. The getting out and talking to your neighbors when it's not necessarily an election time."
The Greene County Democrats use ActBlue, an online fundraising platform, to raise money. But anyone can stop by their headquarters, at 1764 S. Fremont, to make a donation or just ask questions.
The Greene County GOP headquarters, at 1345 E. Sunshine, is where people can go to have questions answered and where candidates can find support.
"We have a space for candidates to...store their signs, to coordinate their door knocking campaigns next door here. If you come on the weekend, there's going to be a whole lot of people organizing to go knock on doors," said Baker. "So, we have that space for the candidates to use for that. We send out emails, we, you know, reach out that way — I'd say all those things that we try to help all the candidates, Republican candidates, in Greene County."
And both the Democratic and Republican local parties help supply election judges on election day. Both Democrats and Republicans are needed to serve as election judges to ensure a fair election. According to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office, state law requires that each polling place be staffed by at least two Republican and two Democratic election judges.
Both the Republican and Democratic county offices also offer a variety of promotional material, including signs promoting their candidates, that are available for a fee.
As Howard points out, signs don’t vote, but they do let people know who’s running.
"They do allow people to, you know, feel like they've, they're putting their word out there telling people how they feel without having to kind of, you know, hold a sign up or do something, go to a protest or something," she said. "Signs are great, but they are just one piece of the puzzle. The entire puzzle is getting out, talking to voters and making sure they know when the elections are."
The Greene County Democrats also offer rides to polling locations for people who need them.
Both Howard and Baker invite the public to stop by their headquarters anytime. Both are open year-round.
"We have an office that's open Monday through Friday, 9:30 to 1:30. And we're also available on our website, greenecountygop.org. And we're always available year-round to answer any questions of Greene County citizens," said Baker. "And really, anybody that's called that wants to ask us something about the Republican positions on anything Republican candidates. Now, you know, we've got a November election. There's several things on the ballot. We have information about those things beyond just the candidates."
Howard said anyone with questions or concerns may contact her anytime. She said the Greene County Democrats are here to be the representative for area Democrats on a local level.
Howard and Baker said their offices are the only ones in Missouri open year-round.
You can find out more about the Greene County GOP at greenecountygop.org and about the Greene County Democrats at gcmodems.org.
Nico Burasco provided production support for this story.
