Elections - love thy neighbor…
Elections Matter. After 20+ years of non-profit advocacy, I have seen elections that have gone the way I wanted and others that didn't. That is the nature of democracy.
My first presidential election was 2004. I spent the day volunteering with non-partisan voter rights groups to ensure election day went smoothly. Do you remember that 2004 election? Lines that took hours. Poor allocation of voting machines. Broken equipment. Confusion about precincts and voting locations that were changed.
I remember an elderly woman who had diabetes had gone to vote with her young grandchildren. Sadly, because of her diabetes and the young children, she couldn't stand in line any longer after waiting more than 90 minutes to vote. She told me that she planned to come back to vote later that evening. Sadly, I never saw her come back.
I don't know how she would have voted in the presidential race that year. Because of the brokenness in our system, her voice was never heard. I carried her story with me in the following months and years as I joined with others and advocated for important improvements in our election system to make sure every eligible and registered voter can be heard.
As people of faith, we need to value democracy and elections because it is a great way to show love to one another by listening to our communities thoughts and opinions.
People vote based on their hopes and fears, their community needs and personal interests. As people of faith, called to love thy neighbor, we have an opportunity to hear the voices of millions through our elections.
