You can fulfill your duty to vote and can also keep a clear conscience in the process!
Here's how.
1. Vote!
Scripture teaches duty to legitimate civil authority (see Rom. 13; 1 Pt. 2). The Catechism of the Catholic Church says it is “morally obligatory … to exercise the right to vote” (2240) and the US Catholic bishops have written, “Every voice matters in the public forum. Every vote ounts.” (Living the Gospel of Life, n. 34). Therefore, vote, vote early, and get others to vote!
b) Vote in the primaries, to help get the right candidates on the ballot in the first place.
c) Absentee Ballots. If you know you will be out of town on Election Day or otherwise unable to get to the polls, don’t let that make you lose your vote! Obtain an absentee ballot right away!
d) Early Voting. If your state allows early voting then even if you are going to be in town on Election Day, you can vote within a specific period of time before Election Day. By all means, do so! Waiting until Election Day risks missing your vote in case of illness, car trouble, bad weather, unexpected family or work obligations, or just forgetfulness. Don’t let the opposition gain a lead in the votes before Election Day even arrives!
For dates, deadlines, and voting info on all of the above, see StateElectionCalendar.org.
2. Know the candidates.
In the voting booth, it’s terrible to feel like you’re guessing who the best candidates are. Know for sure ahead of time where the candidates stand! It is a moral obligation to do your homework now to learn about the candidates! Find out how at VotingInfo.org. Visit candidates’ websites, call campaign headquarters, and read candidates’ literature. Also, candidates who are already legislators have a public voting record. Be sure to consult it!
3. Reject the Disqualified.
Suppose a candidate came forward and said, “I support terrorism.” Would you say, “I disagree with you on terrorism, but what’s your health care plan?”
Of course not. Rather, you would immediately consider that candidate as disqualified from public office. His position, allowing the killing of the public, is radically inconsistent with public service.
So it is with abortion. Abortion is no less violent than terrorism. Support for abortion is enough for us to decide not to vote for such a person.
Saint John Paul II wrote: “Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination” (Christifideles Laici, n.38).
It is “false and illusory” because if government can take away rights from some humans, then those rights aren’t human rights at all. Such a politician is saying that rights like health care only belong to some humans, not to others.
If a politician cannot respect the life of a little baby, how is he supposed to respect yours?
4. Distinguish Policy from Principle
There are many issues, but some are more important than others. As the US Catholic bishops made clear in Living the Gospel of Life, the right to life is like the foundation of a house. It holds up every other issue, because it is the principle at the heart and core of every effort for justice and peace.
Most disagreements between candidates and political platforms do not have to do with principle, but rather with policy. For example, a battle over principle would be some
candidates saying, “Fight Crime” others defending “The Right to Crime.” A battle over policy would be one on how to reduce crime most effectively. The policy doesn’t break the principle.
But when a policy dispute involves questioning whether people deserve that protection in the first place, the policy is the principle. To allow abortion, which is the killing of a human child, is to break the principle that every human life is sacred and deserves protection.
When a policy breaks the very founding principle of government, that is more than an ordinary political disagreement; it’s a disagreement about what kind of government we have.
5. Weigh other issues properly.
There are many issues that have to be considered in elections, but as we have already seen, not all have equal weight. Once voters have disqualified those candidates who violate fundamental principles, they need to look at the wide spectrum of issues affecting the proper care of human life and promotion of human dignity.
Living the Gospel of Life declares, “Any politics of human life must work to …seriously address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing, and health care… But being ‘right’ in such matters can never excuse a wrong choice regarding direct attacks on innocent human life. Indeed, the failure to protect and defend life in its most vulnerable stages renders suspect any claims to the ‘rightness’ of positions in other matters …. If we understand the human person … the living house of God -- then these latter issues fall logically into place as the crossbeams and walls of that house. All direct attacks on innocent human life, such as abortion and euthanasia, strike at the house’s foundation. These directly and immediately
violate the human person’s most fundamental right the right to life. Neglect of these issues is the equivalent of building our house on sand” (n. 23).
“Directly and immediately” are the key words here. One can make an argument that every issue affects human life. Of course it does; otherwise, it wouldn’t be an “issue.” It is one
thing to say that a low wage may lead to having no heat in the house, which may lead to getting sick, which may lead to death. It may or may not. But it is quite another to say that someone has a right to decapitate the person living in the house. That is direct and immediate. If you kill a person, you have broken the law, whether the person is rich or poor. What wage an employer needs to pay is a different issue than whether someone can chop off another’s head.
6. Keep your loyalty focused on Jesus.
When you vote, you show where your loyalties are. There is nothing wrong with being loyal to a candidate or to a political party. But no loyalty should be stronger than your loyalty to Jesus Christ. Ask yourself, “Is there any position that my party takes that contradicts my Christian
faith?”
In Living the Gospel of Life, we read, “We get the public officials we deserve. Their virtue -- or lack thereof -- is a judgment not only on them, but on us. Because of this, we urge our fellow citizens to see beyond party politics, to analyze campaign rhetoric critically, and to choose their political leaders according to principle, not party affiliation or mere self-interest” (n.34).
Sometimes people vote according to the party of the candidate, perhaps because that’s a family tradition, or because some group or friend has asked them to do so. But party platforms change, and it is important to read the latest version (see VotingInfo.net). If the platform of
that party today contradicts the platform of the Gospel and the moral law, you need to have the inner freedom to depart from personal, family, or community tradition and vote instead for the candidate and party that best reflect God’s law. Before belonging to any party
or organization or family, we first belong to Jesus Christ.
7. Remember, the Party Matters.
Voting with a clear conscience also means that you consider how the outcome of the election in which you vote affects the balance of power. Elections do not only put individual candidates into power; they put political parties into power.
What party is in power in Congress, or in a state legislative body, determines who controls committees, what bills receive a debate or a vote, what judges or other officials get confirmed, and much more. In other words, whom you elect in your district can determine how much power much better or much worse candidates elsewhere end up having. Look beyond the particular person on your ballot.
The same questions you ask about the candidates’ positions on issues have to be asked of the party’s positions. What is the party’s platform? If that party comes into power, in what direction will it lead the state and the nation? See the differences in party positions at VotingInfo.net.
8. Distinguish “choosing evil” from “limiting evil.”
What happens if two opposing candidates both support abortion?
Rather than focusing on “pro-life, pro-abortion” labels, just ask a simple question: Which of the two candidates will do more than the other to protect the unborn?
For example, is either of the candidates willing at least to protect the children in the womb who can feel pain? Is either candidate willing to enact measures that promote alternatives to abortion, or better informed consent, or clinic regulations? Is one willing to stop taxpayer funding of abortion? Can you see any benefit of one of the candidates above the other?
One of these two candidates will be elected. So you are not free right now, in this race, to choose another candidate you prefer. Forces beyond your control have already limited your choices.
In this case, it is morally acceptable to vote for the candidate who will do less harm. This is not “choosing the lesser of two evils.” We may never choose evil. But we can choose to limit evil, and that is a good.
9. Support the candidate with more than your vote!
Elections are not contests between two candidates; they are contests between two teams. Join the team of the best candidate by donating to the campaign, volunteering for the campaign, handing out literature for the candidate, making phone calls and visits on the candidate’s behalf, sending emails, using yard signs and bumper stickers, and praying for the candidate! Sign up for our trainings at
ProLifeVolunteer.com.
10. Mobilize as many other voters as possible!
Each of us has one vote, but each of us can mobilize hundreds, even thousands of votes. Many who trust you will accept your guidance about the importance of voting for a particular candidate. Don’t be afraid to use that influence!
As Election Day draws near, focus on the “low-hanging fruit.” Remember,
the numbers are what counts.Gathering as many votes as possible is like picking oranges from trees. You don’t expend time and energy by climbing to the top of the trees to get the oranges there when you
can get many more that are within arm’s reach with much less time and energy!
So don’t focus on the “hard to convince” voters; focus on those who agree with you but need a reminder to vote or a ride to the polls. If you can take the day off on Election Day, do so, and get others to the polls!
Having done all this, rejoice in a clear conscience, and trust the Lord to bring about the victory for a Culture of Life!
Join the movement today to elect pro-life candidates!
ProLifeVolunteer.com