Resources below are sourced from The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations, you can view the Vote Faithfully: Election Engagement Toolkit 2024 in its entirety by clicking here.
HELP RUN ELECTIONS
The U.S. successfully conducted elections during the 1918 flu pandemic and again for the 2020 election with COVID19. A significant part of that success, and the success of any election, are the hundreds of thousands of poll workers/election judges and others who help facilitate the process of the election itself. Poll working is one way you can spend time with your neighbors and build community. In most places, working the polls is also a paid gig, and in some locations, high school students can receive course credit for doing this job.
As our elections are state and locally run, with over 5,000 local jurisdictions, details and terminology for this role vary. But across the U.S., there is an election staffing shortage, and unfortunately, threats and harassment of election workers have meant that many local officials and volunteers have resigned over the past few years.
Too few poll workers can mean longer lines, closed polling locations, and longer vote-counting times that can make it harder to vote and risk reducing trust in our elections. Signing up to work the polls will allow you to learn more about the process, to support your community, and to facilitate our democratic system. It is only because of thousands of citizens of goodwill that our elections remain free and fair, that every eligible person has the opportunity to vote, and every valid vote is counted.
So, consider these additional points for engaging in the 2024 election:
►Become a Poll Worker: For the 2024 election, there is continued, widespread concern about a shortage of poll workers, as many long-time poll workers are retiring and threats to people working election systems have increased. However, primarily from the effort Power the Polls, an estimated 700,000 poll workers were recruited in 2020 boosted in part by companies offering employees time off if they did so. If you are able and comfortable, consider signing up to become a poll worker this year!
o From the Faith in Elections Playbook, here is a sample message you or your faith leaders can send to your congregation. And another for networks.
o Your organization or congregation can become an official partner with Power the Polls at this link.
►Monitor and Publicize New State Procedures: Many states have passed new laws on election processes in recent years, the majority of them expanding voting rights. But whether expanding or restricting access to voting, the public will need to learn those changes. One barrier to voter access is public education with credible information about these processes—for example, if a state has moved to no-excuse absentee (mailin) ballots, updating people on this new process and associated deadlines takes real marketing work and funding. Make sure your community stays informed about these developments. Sharing trustworthy information is critical to keeping our communities informed and crowding out misinformation. Sharing links to your local or state election administration’s website instead of writing it out yourself is important as information may change over time.
Helpful pieces of information may include:
o How to register to vote and check registration status.
o Options for voting, such as early voting, mail-in voting, or dropping off their ballot on Election Day.
o The dates, times, and locations for voting early and on Election Day.
o What types of identification may be required in your county and state.
o Checking the status of mail-in ballots that have been requested or the status of mail-in ballots that voters have returned.
o Where to call if you are having issues casting your vote. (+1-866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) or 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (en Español))
►Equip Yourself Against Disinformation: Use our resource on combatting disinformation, an anticipated underlying problem that has been growing in severity for quite some time, independent of COVID19.Additionally, The United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) has a handy two-page resource on this, as well as a guide to dealing with disinformation.
REGISTER
You cannot vote unless you are registered! Don’t procrastinate— get registered today!
►Visit https://vote.gov/ to get registered NOW.
►Even if you believe you are registered, double-check your voter registration status to make sure.
►You don’t have to register alone! Find friends and fellow parishioners who are not yet registered and sign up together. You can even make it a virtual event if you are able to register online or request registration form by mail.
►Celebrate the fourth Tuesday of September as National Voter Registration Day.
►Talk to youth and young adults about the importance of registering and help get them registered. Many states allow young people to register as long as they will turn 18 on or before the next election.
►Host a voter registration drive. Use this toolkit from Rock the Vote for information on hosting your own voter registration drive, including state-specific information.
MOBILIZE
Help your community members access polling stations on Election Day.
►Engage with Civic Holidays. National Voter Registration Day, National Voter Education Week, Vote Early Day, Election Hero Day. While we make references to these four days throughout this toolkit, they recently united under a new umbrella “Civic Holidays.” Dive into the rich resources they each offer for guiding your GOTV efforts.
►Engage as a Poll Chaplain. Pastors, priests, imams, rabbis, and other faith leaders are joining together with lawyers to support citizens in areas where voter suppression and intimidation may occur. The presence of faith leaders and trained legal experts will provide needed support to communities fearful of suppression and intimidation. Check out this Faiths United to Save Democracy resource for more information.
►On Election Day, give rides to the polls.* Not everyone has an easy means of transportation to get to their polling location. Use a signup sheet to match people willing to offer transportation with those who are in need of a ride to the polls.
►Provide childcare service during election hours. Voters with young children may need childcare so that they are able to vote. Use a signup sheet to find volunteers for providing childcare and identifying those who are in need of childcare.
►Make sure your community members know where to vote. Finding your polling location is simple: you can now search “find my polling location” via Google and you will be directed to provide your voting address. Google will provide early voting information, Election Day polling locations, and ballot information! You can also go to Rock the Vote for voting info.
►Know the laws for community members with past criminal convictions. Laws around voting eligibility relating to criminal record vary by state. Use and share this resource to inform people on their eligibility to vote.
►Equip your community members with voter protection tools. Make sure every member of your congregation knows where they can turn for help if they have trouble casting their ballot. Share this information about election protection. Include voter protection information in your church bulletin!
►Provide food and water for people at the polls. This helpful guide outlines what you should do to do this legally and effectively.
►Build relationships with election officials. Not only do we want to see Episcopalians stepping up as poll workers, but we can also build constructive and supportive relationships with election officials as well. This helpful guide compiled by Interfaith America with A More Perfect Union resources outlines ways and reasons to build such relationships from getting an accurate assessment of the needs and concerns of your particular community, to determining exactly how best to do voter engagement, to simply saying thank you. Speaking of gratitude, don’t miss Election Hero Day and their resources for celebrating those who run our elections.