Assisting people to register to vote is one of the best ways to
exercise our citizenship. Voter registration efforts can be conducted by
individuals, churches, and other organizations.
Voter registration laws and deadlines vary from state to state. Forms
also differ, although there is a
National Voter Registration Form that
can be used.
Filling out a voter registration form could hardly be simpler,
and takes about two minutes.
Non-partisan voter registration is both legal and appropriate for
Churches to do, because it is a way to assist members of the
congregation to exercise their faith in day to day life, and to take
advantage of the freedom God gives us in this country.
We call upon pastors of all denominations to exercise their legal and
moral right to exhort their congregations to register to vote.
Each election year there are a few Sundays designated as
National Christian Voter Registration Sundays.
This activity can be
done on any day of the year. Voter registration drives fall within the
activities that are permitted to tax-exempt organizations and churches.
(Click here for
guidance from the legal office of the United States Conference of
Catholic bishops, and
click here for
guidelines from the Internal Revenue Service.) Our specific project
has been examined and approved
by experts in the relevant federal laws.
Pastors who choose to carry out this project on one or more of the
designated weekends, or a weekend of their own choosing, can come to
this web page for further guidance on how to conduct such a project, and
for suggested homily material and prayers to incorporate into the
worship service on such an occasion.
Click here for instructions on
how to carry out
a voter registration drive
in your Church.
Click here for voting and
election details for each State.
Click here to find the voter registration age requirements for your State.
Along with doing voter registration in Churches, you can do it in
many other settings as well. For example, you can obtain voter
registration forms and give them to your friends at pro-life meetings
and events, prayer groups, Bible studies, Sunday mass, or any other
function. If you are organizing an event, have a voter registration
table as part of it.
Let’s start registering voters today!