California Churches Gathering Ballots
Dear Reader,
We have an opportunity.
Now let us do good.
The United States now enters the final stretch of the 2020 election. Although the focus is on the presidential sweepstakes, races up and down the ballot will have ramifications for years to come. Indeed, it is a pivotal election for those of us with a Biblical worldview, and yet the number of evangelicals who vote is staggeringly small.
It doesn’t bode well for the moral compass of our country.
According to Craig Huey, a businessman, political commentator and founder of the popular Election Forum website, of the 14 million evangelicals in California only 6.72 million voted in 2018.*
The numbers bear out with a recent case study of an affluent and educated Southern California congregation: only half of the people were registered to vote and their voting frequency was broken into thirds.**
1/3 voted 5 or 6 times out of 6 elections
1/3 voted 4 or 3 times out of 6 elections
1/3 voted 2, 1, or 0 times in the past 6 elections
Imagine the American landscape if more evangelicals voted. That is why Church United is launching the Gathering Church initiative. The campaign is designed to improve voter participation in an era of COVID-19 restrictions.
The plan is simple and is legally protected way to engage Christians in the voting process. Click to view Advocates for Faith and Freedom legal guide.
Options and resources for Gathering Churches and their pastors include:
Register: Up to the day of the election!
Talk through ballots received in the mail to all California registered voters during a Sunday church service
Collect ballots at church & Deliver to county registrar’s office
Each Gathering Church Pastor has the discretion on whether to endorse or support individual candidate(s) or focus only on the issues/policies and beliefs of the candidates or organizations that support them. A non-partisan voter guide, such as ElectionForum.org is available for the pastors to use.
Remaining Election 2020 Timeline:
October 19: Deadline to register for absentee ballot
October 30: Four days of early voting (5 days of voting total)
November 3: Conditional Voter Registration period until Election Day close
November 3: Turn-in ballots on or before November 3
Praying for you and our upcoming election,
Pastor Jim
* Craig Huey’s Election Forum
** Dobler Strategies using PDI (Political Data Inc.)