An Election-Year Call to Faith Leaders from the North Carolina Council of Churches
Our time to choose
North Carolina’s 2014 general election will be held on Tuesday, November 4. Although this is an “off-year” election, without contests for president or governor, many important races will be decided.
The state’s voters will choose one of their two U.S. senators and all 13 of their representatives in Congress. Several seats on the state’s two highest courts will be filled, as will every seat in the General Assembly – 50 in the Senate and 120 in the House. Counties will choose commissioners who make decisions about taxes, school spending and other local priorities.
If the outcome is truly to reflect the people’s will and further the public trust, broad voter participation is vital.
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Justice in the balance
The N.C. Council of Churches believes strongly that voting is one of our paramount duties as citizens. The Council also recognizes that in North Carolina, election laws have been changed in ways that may hinder some citizens from voting and thus make it harder for them to choose leaders who will look out for their interests.
Those interests include adequate investment in our schools and universities.
In health programs that meet the needs of rich and poor alike.
In a fair, efficient court system.
In programs to fight pollution of our air and water.
They include adequate investment, we can say, in the entire scope of public efforts to make North Carolina a place where decent opportunities to live prosperous, healthy, fulfilling lives are available to each and every one of us, no matter where we live or our social standing.
This is the core principle of social justice that lies at the heart of the Christian tradition and that drives our involvement in the public arena. The Council now calls on those people of faith who belong to its member organizations and on all people of good will to act in response to new voting rules that could make social justice more elusive.
Read more about why people of faith should care about elections here.
[tabs][tab title=”Our Statement on Suffrage”]
An official statement approved December 10, 2013 by the Governing Board of the North Carolina Council of Churches
The ability of those who have traditionally been unheard or unheeded to have a voice is a core concern of Christianity. The North Carolina Council of Churches has long supported equal legal rights for all. Nowhere is this more important than in suffrage, the right to vote.
The right to vote of every citizen is fundamental to democracy, rooted in the principle of consent of the governed, a core concern of Christian ethics as it is of American political history. It is a primary means in a republic to allow the dispossessed, the poor, and racial and ethnic minority groups a voice in the public square. Indeed it is what guarantees that there is a public square for all citizens…
Click here to read the full statement.
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[tab title=”Bulletin Inserts”]
As of the Supreme Court ruling on October 8, the information in the inserts is accurate.
Voter Bulletin Insert — Front and Back
Voter Bulletin Insert — Side by Side
Voter Bulletin Insert — In Spanish/En Español
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[tab title=”Register to Vote”]
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[tab title=”News”]
- ‘Faithful Voter Reflection Guide’ Weighs Moral Issues for NC Voters (11/7/2022)
- Coalition visits Greenville to talk judicial reform (9/9/2022)
- Group advocates for removal of judges from party affiliation (9/8/2022)
- Is North Carolina’s judicial system fair? This group says no way. Here is the reason why. (8/26/2022)
- Fair Courts Press Conference (8/23/2022)
- Fair, Safe and Secure Elections (8/19/2022)
- NC Faith Groups Raise Awareness on Election Integrity (6/14/2022)
- Sad Twists on Election Integrity (6/11/2021)
- Politicians’ fear: Too many votes (3/24/2021)
- Election Machinery in High Gear (10/22/2020)
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