Sojo Mail - Your right to vote under attack

Your Right to Vote: The Imago Dei Imperative Adam R. Taylor Can you imagine showing up at your polling place on Election Day and being turned away because you lacked the proper ID? Or thinking that you are registered, only to find out that your name has been purged from the voting roll? Or imagine showing up only to find out that your polling place was unexpectedly moved to a new, distant location. Imagine arriving between kid pick-ups with only an hour to spare and because there are only a few voting machines, you are faced with a 4-hour line that snakes around the building. Imagine being faced with deciding whether to take a half day off of work in order to vote, a hit to your paycheck that you can’t afford. While these scenarios may seem foreign to many of us, for far too many citizens of color, these barriers represent the alarming and increasingly real lived experience of voter suppression. These insidious tactics constitute a deliberate attempt to derail and delay the impacts of our nation’s quickly changing demography from transforming our democracy. ... In the lead up to the 2018 midterm elections, Sojourners joined forces with the Skinner Leadership Institute and the African-American Clergy Network to launch the Lawyers and Collars program, which is an integral part of a longer standing voter engagement program called Turnout Sunday. The goal of the program is to ensure that all citizens, who are made in the very image of God, can exercise their right to vote in a free and fair election. Working with a range of local and national partners, together in 2018 we reached over 5 million faith leaders and activists with tools to combat voter suppression efforts and mobilized nearly 1,000 churches to engage in voter protection, education, and Get Out the Vote efforts. And since we expect voter suppression efforts to be even more sophisticated and widespread in 2020, we are scaling up our efforts. READ ON FOR WAYS TO JOIN US Forward Share

ADVERTISEMENT

Our Latest Climate Justice Starts Locally (by Melody Zhang) When we tune into the litany of climate disasters happening at such a massive scale and rapid speed, it can be so easy to slip into despair, apathy, and feeling overwhelmed. How to 'Try Softer': A Conversation with Aundi Kolber (by Kaitlin Curtice) "Healing births healing," says licensed counselor and seminary graduate Aundi Kolber. Trump's 5-Point Plan for Impeding Legal Immigration (by Donald Kerwin, Robert Warren) A recent study underscores the continued contributions of immigrants to our nation’s life. The Burden of Safety Doesn't Lie With the Abused (by Russell L. Meek) #WhereIPutMyself: Christians Respond to Weinstein's Attorney.

ADVERTISEMENT

From the Magazine Time to Delete Your Church’s Facebook Page? (by Danny Duncan Collum) When we lend our eyeballs to that platform, we help to fund its corrupt and dangerous practices.

ADVERTISEMENTS Tell Congress to accept more refugees The GRACE Act would set a minimum refugee admissions goal of 95,000 people each year and take away the power from the president to end the refugee program. Tell the Senate to Reauthorize VAWA The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) became a law 25 years ago, providing crucial protections for women and survivors of domestic violence. VAWA is now up for reauthorization but is being held up in the Senate. Please ask your senators to vote for this important bill.