BPOU stands for Basic Political Operating Unit.  Precincts are a smaller political unit operating inside of a BPOU, but the BPOU is the organizing unit for caucuses, conventions and organizational development within the party.  In areas like the Metro Twin Cities, with higher population density, a BPOU and Senate District  are synonymous. In rural areas, a BPOU may include more than one district.  

The BPOU operates as an independent group.  It has it's own leadership, membership, budget, etc.  During election year caucuses, the membership of each BPOU selects delegates who will subsequently nominate candidates at BPOU, Congressional District and State Conventions.  During off-election years, BPOU conventions are held to elect the BPOU leadership required to fundraise, develop and support precinct leadership and recruit and develop candidates for the next election year campaign 

Despite being independent, BPOUs are part of a hierarchy.  In SD 42, the district is split into two House Districts (42A & 42B).  Each House District is represented in the state legislature by a MN State Representative and SD 42 as a whole is represented in the MN Senate by one MN State Senator.  At the precinct level, each BPOU supports about 20 precincts.  These precincts vary in size, but active precincts help organize volunteers to promote Republican ideology and to grow the base in their precincts during non-election years.  Then, during election season, precinct volunteers become the ground game engine for campaigns during election season.  In SD 42, there are 22 precincts.  The average population of a MN BPOU in 2025 is approximately 85,000 citizens.

A BPOU may contain an entire city, or only part of one.  It may contain several cities, or part of several.  Depending on population density, a BPOU may cover one or more counties in a rural district as compared to Hennepin county where there are a dozen Senate Districts that are partially or entirely located in the one county. 

Senate District 42 is entirely located in Congressional District 3 along with all or part of 11 other BPOUs. Senate District 42 is comprised of House Districts 42A & 42B.  SD42 includes Plymouth (except for P-16 which is in SD 43), Medicine Lake and Eden Prairie P-12.   Your polling location is based upon your precinct.  Generally, each precinct has a distinct polling location at a church, school, community center or other public building.

A BPOU may be redistricted when the legislature changes the district boundaries to reflect population changes. Generally this happens no more than once in a decade.  The redistricting process is highly political with the party in power working to redraw the district lines to favor its electoral demographics.