Vote

The book of Proverbs, in the 29th chapter, offers strong evidence for people of faith to be involved in our system of governance, which in America, is predicated on that unique concept in the first three words of the Constitution, "We the People." We can read this in Proverbs:
2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.

And, two verses later, we see:

4 The king establishes the land by justice, But he who receives bribes overthrows it.

The first Tuesday of November is regarded as Election Day, although there are numerous days throughout a given year when voters will go to the polls.  This year's Election Day is headlined by the Virginia contest between former governor Terry McAuliffe and businessman Glenn Youngkin.  In what is seen as a so-called "purple" state, this race is being seen as an indicator of where Americans might land nationally from a political perspective.

In whatever sphere we operate as Christians, ideally our faith should drive our views; I believe our political choices should be driven by Biblical principles. Generally, churches do not endorse candidates, although there has been a move afoot for several years to remove any government restrictions on that practice, which was tested recently when a high-profile federal official sent a video to Virginia churches endorsing one of the candidates - there was bi-partisan criticism of that move.

And, we should always be concerned with the integrity of the vote. That is why a number of states, on the heels of the 2020 election, which, due to coronavirus, featured a number of new and not necessarily wise practices, such as mail-in voting, some forms of early voting, and other measures that served to call the integrity of the election into question, implemented new election laws. While control over electoral processes ideally should be implemented on the state and local level, when officials seemingly engage in corrupt practices, states should take measures to preserve integrity...

...not the federal government. That is why states have attempted to strengthen voter ID and other commonsense measures. Two organizations that I have featured on my program: My Faith Votes and the Susan B. Anthony List, of which Life Issues is a part, have been involved in making sure there is integrity in the electoral process.  My Faith Votes launched Election Integrity Now and the SBA List is part of the Election Transparency Initiative, in order to restore trust in our election systems.

In a statement, My Faith Votes CEO Jason Yates explained the reasoning behind its efforts: "The 2020 elections revealed genuine concerns in the election process that could threaten election integrity and the very foundation of our Constitutional Republic. Yet, even more dangerous than election fraud is that many Christians have lost confidence in the election system. This belief drives apathy among believers and leads Christians once again to sit on the sidelines of the civic process," adding, "At My Faith Votes, we believe in the possibility of secure elections and high voter participation, and we reject the media’s narrative that we cannot do both. Now is the time to get more involved, not to retreat. We must roll up our sleeves and take action to put in place election safeguards at the county and state levels and stand against dangerous federal overreaches in our election process."

Since the launch of Election Integrity Now, at ElectionIntegrityNow.org, there have been three attempts in Congress to vote on measures that would implement new federal controls over elections; so far, all three have failed.  

Commenting on the most recent federal election bill, former Virginia Attorney General and National Chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative, Ken Cuccinelli, stated that it, among other things, "...would subject citizens who contribute to nonprofit organizations to harassment and intimidation by making their personal information available in a government-controlled data base, and through an expansion of the definition of 'electioneering communications,' it would subject virtually all issue-related ads to burdensome disclaimer requirements even if unrelated to a candidate for elected office." Cuccinelli echoed a familiar theme in this season of election reform, "It should be easy to vote and hard to cheat in our elections."

Our voting practices should ideally be a matter of prayer - My Faith Votes issued an Election Integrity Prayer Guide, and introduced it on the Election Integrity Now website, saying:

The most powerful tool we have is the power of prayer. The great American experiment of freedom has beat the odds and endured for more than 200 years. But we know, as President Ronald Reagan said, freedom is not passed on “to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same.”

The election process is the means by which freedom is preserved. Pray faithfully for this system to remain lawful, fair, and free in America.

While there is not a statewide election in Alabama this year, you can certainly prepare for next year, where the entire Alabama Legislature will be up for re-election. There is a major U.S. Senate race in the state, as well.  Furthermore, the whole U.S. House of Representatives will be up for re-election. Last week, a special session of the Legislature began, devoted to setting the district lines for future state and Congressional elections.  You can make sure that you are registered to vote and engaged in the process. As a person committed to truth, you may even want to make sure that you enlist in assisting as an election volunteer.

Finally, as I have been encouraging, you may even want to consider running for office.  Maybe there is a school board or county commission seat, or municipal office for which an election is being held.  We should be concerned with and motivated to bring our Christian values to the public square.  We can advance the Kingdom of God through our involvement in our governing bodies.