Vote Faithfully Election Engagement
Introduction — Start here!
Getting souls to the polls isn’t just about casting our own vote but helping everyone eligible vote faithfully. We can empower every voice in our congregations in this work. There are A LOT of resources, ideas, and ways to act captured on this page. Doing election engagement well does not mean taking on everything there is to do and being overwhelmed. Effective election engagement begins with looking at what your community’s needs are, what resources, skills, and interests you and your church have, and then proceeding based on how that capacity can help meet those needs.
For some, this may be offering your parish as a polling site, for others it may mean election worker recruitment. For many it’s persistent messaging in newsletters and bulletin boards, for others it’s organizing child care on voting days. Whatever your path, we hope you are inspired to do more as a faithful Episcopalian modeling healthy and constructive civic engagement. All election engagement work must be non-partisan, and please heed local laws, election details, and Episcopal safe church practices as you promote voting.
Learn more about the election process from Election Day through Inauguration with What to Expect When You’re Electing.
Equip yourself for longer term engagement through these reflective pieces:
- The Lectionary as an Advocacy Resource
- Cultivating Hope Through Active Engagement
- Safeguarding Democracy: A Call to Avoid Election Interference and Violence
Vote Faithfully Toolkit 2024
This guide is like a “where to start” guide. Our revised Vote Faithfully Toolkit provides instructions and resources for effective “get out the vote” strategies in your context. Resources for worship are also included.
Parish Election Challenge: Building Community with Election Engagement
The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the United Methodist Church are together calling on our member parishes, congregations, and worship communities to take part in the 2024 Parish Election Challenge to help facilitate voter participation in this year’s U.S. national election. Join us by promoting election engagement resources in your parish!
Communications Toolkit + Bulletin Inserts for Election Engagement
This communications toolkit, in English and Spanish, features 6 Sundays of bulletin inserts and ready-to-go graphics for social media and newsletters to make it easier for you to plug election engagement into your church’s communications. Use these graphics, bulletin inserts, and other printable and electronic material to help your church be of service in your community for the 2024 election.
Sharing accurate information is critical. Our goal is to lift up voting as a responsibility and opportunity to engage in a constructive way in our communities, as a means of living our faith as Episcopalians. Each bulletin insert focuses on a different aspect of voting:
- September 15th National Voter Registration Day
- October 6th National Voter Education Week
- October 13th Why Does Voting Matter?
- October 20th Misinformation in Campaigns
- October 27th Vote Early Day
- November 3rd Vote Faithfully Sunday
Included in the toolkit is a “how-to” document to help make posting that much easier.
Episcopal Election Activators 2024-2025
Episcopal Election Activators is an Episcopal Church program, run by the Office of Government Relations, that seeks volunteers to help promote and facilitate local non-partisan election engagement efforts in their state or region of the U.S.! Applications are open for the 2024-2025 cohort, which will run from January 2024 to December 2025 with varying levels of engagement based on the election calendar. Individuals may apply at any time, even as the program is underway.
Episco-pols Podcast
Season three of our Episco-pols podcast, airing late spring and early summer 2024, focuses on election engagement from a variety of angles. You don’t want to miss an episode!
You can find the Episco-pols podcast on your favorite podcast platform or through this link:
Addressing Political Violence
The current climate in the U.S., and indeed in many parts of the world, is experiencing a confluence of factors including instability, violent rhetoric, and heightened political tension as well as disinformation exacerbated by artificial intelligence. We have compiled this list of resources to educate and equip ourselves to respond to and push back against political violence. We can prepare by being familiar with the threats of political violence, practicing de-escalation in tense moments, and having a response ready to share with your community if political violence continues. At their core, responses to escalating and tense situations leading up to this year’s election need to be guided by peace and truth. By educating ourselves on current issues and warning signs, we can better lead by pushing back against political violence.
Civil Discourse Training
Equip yourself for more constructive political conversations using Make Me an Instrument of Peace: A Guide to Civil Discourse, the From Many, One campaign, and more. Help bridge partisan divides, learn from others, and enlarge the sacred space for debate.
Misinformation, Disinformation, Fake News: Why Do We Care?
As Christians, we are not called to a life of half-truths and deception. We are called to follow a God who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The Prayer Book also teaches that among our duties to our neighbors is “to be honest and fair in our dealings” and to “speak truth, and not mislead others by our silence.” (pg. 848) Let us therefore examine our own conduct to limit the spread of deceitful information and call upon our leaders to work towards the same.
Learn more about the election process from Election Day through Inauguration with What to Expect When You’re Electing.
Learn more and equip yourself to recognize and overcome misinformation in this critical resource.
Additional Resources
The resources below may be helpful for additional messaging ideas or perspective on this election cycle. Some resources contain particular instructions on how to use (or refrain from using) the material.
“Non-Partisan Messaging to Protect the Will of the People” 501c3 guidance
Over Zero Election Violence Prevention resources
Want stickers or magnets? Reach out: eppn@episcopalchurch.org
Contact:
The Office of Government Relations
eppn@episcopalchurch.org