1. Help to register more voters --
Find out the many possible ways how, either through your Church or as a
private citizen! Now is the time to register new voters!
2. Obtain from us the presentations that were given at the
2003 legal symposium we co-sponsored at the Ave Maria Law School on the topic
The Church and Politics: Are We as Restricted as We Think?
Click here for written presentations and for the ability to listen to the
seminar. Share these resources with your pastor or organization leader. You can
order the booklet at our
online store.
3. Letters to the Editor -- Be sure to get hard-hitting
letters into your local daily papers about candidates and issues! You can
influence many people! See instructions and sample letters at
www.priestsforlife.org/letters
4. Encourage your pastor to use the resources
available below for preaching, bulletin inserts, and educational booklets
for the Church bookrack or library.
5. Organize small groups to study the US Bishops' document
Living the Gospel of Life. Our study guide on this
document can be used individually online, or by groups in your Church,
organization, or home.
6. Use the Internet to spread the word about issues,
candidates, and political responsibility! Use our banner
ads on your website. Go into chat rooms, discussion
forums, bulletin boards, etc. to raise awareness about the elections. Make
links from your website to ours and to other political sites. Make your own
website to help people take part in the elections or to spread information about
the candidate of your choice.
7. Use your email list to broadcast helpful election
information, such as the material on this site.
8. You may be needed in your community to help distribute
voter guides on the weekend prior to the election. An election can be decided
based on how many voter guides are given out! If you can help in this effort,
fill in the form above and indicate
the kind of help you can provide or check with your local or state respect life organizations to
see what is planned. And please note that you DO have the right to distribute
these fliers in Church parking lots. See this legal
letter for information. Moreover, if you are thrown out of the parking lot,
you can always move onto the public sidewalk or other public property adjoining
the Church, and you should strongly insist on your right to remain there.
9. Make use of early voting, which in many states, can be done
without needing a special reason -- you can vote before Election Day, thus
decreasing the chances that something unexpected will prevent you from getting
to the polls. Promote this idea to others. Also make sure that those who will be
out of town on Election Day, or who are homebound, request and send in an
absentee ballot.
10. When Election Day approaches, you can increase the number
of votes for the right candidates by calling your friends and urging them to go
to the polls. On Election Day, take the day off from work and help people get to
the polls if they need a ride or someone to watch their children, or some other
form of assistance.
11. Contact your local Board of Elections and ask about
poll-watching, which is an activity you can take part in whereby citizens are
present at the polling places on Election Day to make sure that the elections
are conducted fairly and efficiently, and to be on the alert for abuses.
12. Support the candidate of your choice by making a financial
contribution and/or working on his or her campaign. (The amount of money you can
contribute to a specific candidate is limited by law. Once you have reached the
legal limit, contribute to organizations like ours which work to advance
particular positions which the candidates of
your choice support.) Also, show support for your candidate by means of yard
signs, bumper stickers, pins, and envelope stickers!
