Civil Rights &
Civic Empowerment
The Black–white voter turnout gap in 2024 returned to its worst level since the mid-1990s — an 11-point gap, comparable to the pre-Obama era (Good Authority, October 2025; combined data from US Census, academic surveys, and voter files). In Alabama, the gap hit a 16-year high. In 43 competitive congressional districts, the number of non-voting eligible voters of color exceeded the victory margins. Churches are the most trusted institutions in Black and Latino communities, and their most direct civic contribution is not preaching about politics — it is registering voters, staffing rides to the polls, hosting candidate forums, and making civic participation part of discipleship. The IRS permits all of this for 501(c)(3) churches. There are no legal barriers. There is only a decision to make.
−11 pt Turnout Gap
The Black–white voter turnout gap in 2024 was −11 percentage points — the largest it has been since the mid-1990s, before the Obama mobilization era. This reversal occurred simultaneously with states expanding restrictive voting laws following the 2013 Shelby County Supreme Court decision (Good Authority, October 2025).
IRS Permits This
IRS rules expressly permit 501(c)(3) churches to conduct nonpartisan voter registration, voter education, get-out-the-vote activities, and candidate forums — so long as the church does not endorse, oppose, or contribute to any candidate or political party. The legal boundaries are clear and documented.
Outcomes Where Votes Lived
USC's Center for Inclusive Democracy found that in 43 competitive congressional districts in 2024, the number of eligible voters of color who did not vote exceeded the margin of victory. The church sits in the middle of many of these districts. The gap between what exists and what's possible is a civic engagement gap.
Nonpartisan = Prophetic
Civic empowerment ministry is not partisanship. It is participation. The church's role is to register voters, help them understand their rights, remove barriers (transportation, childcare, ID), and make civic engagement part of discipleship — regardless of how those voters choose to vote. That is the prophetic civic role.
What the IRS Actually Permits — and What It Doesn't
This section comes first because fear of IRS rules is the most common reason churches avoid civic engagement — and most of that fear is based on misunderstanding. The rules are clear and well-documented. Churches are both permitted and well-positioned to engage deeply in civic life.
Permitted Nonpartisan Activities
- Nonpartisan voter registration drives — registering members and community members to vote
- Voter education — distributing nonpartisan voter guides covering candidates' positions across issues
- Candidate forums — hosting all major candidates for an office to speak, with equal time and equal treatment
- Get out the vote (GOTV) activities — rides to the polls, text reminders, announcement of election dates
- Issue advocacy — speaking publicly on policy issues (housing, healthcare, immigration) not framed as support for a candidate
- Encouraging voter registration as a community sermon topic — the pastor may urge the congregation to register and vote
- Serving as a polling site — churches may offer their space as polling locations
- Recruiting poll workers — encouraging congregation members to serve as election judges or poll workers
Prohibited Partisan Activities
- Endorsing or opposing any candidate for public office — including from the pulpit
- Making financial contributions to any candidate, campaign, or political party
- Distributing voter guides that favor or disfavor specific candidates
- Inviting only some candidates to speak while excluding others
- Directing the church's resources (staff, funds, or facilities) for campaign purposes
- Making political statements on behalf of the church in partisan terms
Important distinction: Individual pastors may express personal political opinions as individuals, in their personal capacity — not as representatives of the church. The restrictions apply to the church as an institution, not to clergy as private citizens.
Source: IRS Publication 1828, "Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations," rev. 2015; IRS Notice 2007-22; Alliance for Justice, "Worry-Free Lobbying for Nonprofits" (2d ed.); Episcopal Church Vote Faithfully 2024 Toolkit (vetted to comply with 501(c)(3) regulations). Consult your church's legal counsel for state-specific rules, which may supplement federal IRS guidelines. This playbook provides general educational guidance, not legal advice.
The Turnout Gap Is Back. And It's Growing Where the Voting Rights Act No Longer Protects.
More than 155 million Americans — 64% of eligible voters — voted in the 2024 presidential election. Despite this historically high turnout, new research published in October 2025 by Good Authority (analyzing data from the US Census Bureau, academic surveys, voter files, and election returns across federal elections from 1980 to 2024) found that the Black–white voter turnout gap in 2024 was −11 percentage points — returning to levels last seen in the 1980s and mid-1990s, before the Obama-era mobilization that briefly closed the gap. The drop was concentrated among Black Americans without a college degree, and young Black men showed a particularly sharp decline: in 2024, turnout among young Black men was 25%, compared to 58% among young white women (CIRCLE, Tufts University).
The Brennan Center for Justice's analysis of nearly a billion voter records, published in March 2024, found that the racial turnout gap is growing fastest in states and jurisdictions formerly covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act — the preclearance provision that the Supreme Court effectively gutted in Shelby County v. Holder (2013). Before Shelby County, states with a documented history of voting discrimination were required to obtain federal approval before changing voting laws. After Shelby County, states in the formerly-covered region passed voter ID requirements, closed polling locations, purged voter rolls, reduced early voting hours, and redrew congressional districts — without federal review. The Brennan Center's March 2025 analysis of Alabama found the Black–white turnout gap hit a 16-year high in the 2024 elections, growing nearly 50% from 2022 to 2024.
The USC Center for Inclusive Democracy's analysis, published December 2025, found that in all 43 competitive congressional districts analyzed using the Cook Political Report's competitiveness ratings, voters of color represented smaller shares of ballots cast than their proportionate share of eligible voters. In many of these districts, the number of non-voting eligible voters of color exceeded the margin of victory. "This research confirms that boosting turnout among voters of color in hotly contested congressional races could be the difference between victory or defeat for some House candidates," said CID Director Mindy Romero.
The church is not a bystander to these dynamics. It is positioned at the center of the communities most affected by the growing turnout gap. Its theology — rooted in Amos 5:24 ("Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream"), Micah 6:8, and Luke 4 — has always included a public dimension. Every major civil rights campaign in American history has been organized through churches. The NAACP was co-founded at a church in 1909. The March on Washington was planned in churches. Bloody Sunday began on the steps of Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma. The church has never been separate from the struggle for civic inclusion. A voter registration table in the narthex and a van to the polls on Election Day are not departures from that tradition. They are its continuation.
Research published in October 2025 (Good Authority, combining US Census data, academic survey data, voter file data, and election returns) estimated voter turnout by demographic group in every US federal election from 1980 to 2024. The findings: Black turnout in 2024 was approximately 5 percentage points below its 2008–2012 peak, producing a Black–white turnout gap of −11 percentage points — the largest since the mid-1990s. The drop was concentrated among Black Americans without a college degree. In three elections from 2018 to 2022, 43% of eligible white voters cast ballots consistently, compared to 27% of eligible Black voters, 21% of Asian American voters, and 19% of Hispanic voters (Pew Research Center).
Source: Good Authority (academic research publication), "2024 Brought High Voter Turnout — but a Growing Racial Gap," October 2025; Pew Research Center, "Black Americans and the Ballot Box," 2024; Brennan Center for Justice, "Growing Racial Disparities in Voter Turnout, 2008–2022," March 2024; Brennan Center, "Alabama's Racial Turnout Gap Hit a 16-Year High in 2024," March 2025.CIRCLE (Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, Tufts University) found that youth voter turnout in 2024 was approximately 47% overall — slightly below 2020 but significantly above 2016. However, turnout ranged from 58% for young white women to 25% for young Black men — a 33-point gap within the youth electorate alone. Black youth face "systemic barriers to voting access" that even high levels of community belonging do not overcome without targeted civic information and support. The Latino voter registration gap with white eligible voters is approximately 13 percentage points (NPR / University of Maryland CDCE research, 2024).
Source: CIRCLE at Tufts University, "New Data: Nearly Half of Youth Voted in 2024," December 2024; CIRCLE, "Black Youth Are Invested in their Communities but Encounter Barriers to Voting," 2024; NPR / University of Maryland Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, "Voter Registration Gap for Latinos and Asian Americans," April 2024.Black–White Turnout Gap 2024
The largest Black–white turnout gap since the mid-1990s, according to Good Authority analysis of Census, voter file, and survey data (October 2025). The gap has nearly doubled from its Obama-era low of approximately −1 percentage point in 2008–2012.
Competitive Districts Where Gap Exceeded Margin
In all 43 competitive congressional districts analyzed by USC's Center for Inclusive Democracy (December 2025), non-voting eligible voters of color outnumbered the margin of victory. The civic gap has direct electoral consequences.
High: Alabama Turnout Gap in 2024
Alabama's racial turnout gap reached its highest level since at least 2008 — growing 50% from 2022 to 2024. Had eligible nonwhite voters turned out at the same rate as white voters, 200,000 additional ballots would have been cast (Brennan Center, March 2025).
How Churches Run Civic Empowerment Programs
From Chicago's Community Renewal Society "My Congregation Votes" campaign to the UCC's national "Our Faith Our Vote" framework to the Episcopal Church's "Vote Faithfully" Parish Election Challenge — the denominational infrastructure for church-based civic engagement is extensive and ready to use.
My Congregation Votes: Congregation-Level Voter Mobilization Tied to Issue Advocacy
Community Renewal Society — a Chicago-based faith-rooted social justice organization founded in 1882 and operated as an ecumenical faith-based community organization — launched the "My Congregation Votes" 2024 campaign to help congregations engage in civic participation and education around issues at stake in elections. The campaign frames voting as a tool for systemic change: "By casting an informed ballot, people of goodwill can create a society that is fair and equitable — Beloved Community, where each person can thrive and reach their full potential regardless of identity or status." The CRS model integrates voter registration, issue education, and community organizing — recognizing that civic engagement is most durable when it is tied to specific issues that a congregation's members care about and organizing around, not just electoral moments.
The Year-Round Civic Calendar
CRS's model is not election-only. The "My Congregation Votes" framework builds toward elections through year-round issue education, registration, and organizing. A congregation that begins civic engagement in September of an election year is starting too late to build the relational infrastructure and issue literacy that motivates sustained participation. Begin in January of election years; begin voter registration the previous fall; conduct issue education year-round.
Issue-Linked Registration
The most effective voter registration is linked to issues the registrant already cares about: "Your neighborhood's school funding, housing rights, and police accountability are all decided by elected officials. Register here, and we'll keep you informed about how those issues are moving in city hall and Springfield." Registration without issue connection produces a registered voter who may still not vote. Registration with issue connection produces a mobilized voter who shows up.
The "Pledge to Vote and Help a Friend" Model
CRS and UCC use a "Vote Tripling" model: every congregant who pledges to vote also pledges to personally encourage three friends, family members, or neighbors to vote. Research on vote-tripling (relational voter turnout) consistently shows that a personal conversation about voting from a trusted person produces significantly higher turnout than any form of direct mail or digital advertising. The church's relational network is the most powerful GOTV tool available.
Souls to the Polls Coordination
On Election Day and during early voting periods, CRS-affiliated congregations organize "Souls to the Polls" transportation: congregation members with vehicles are matched with congregation members and community neighbors who need rides to polling locations. A sign-up sheet in the bulletin 2–3 weeks before the election, a volunteer coordinator managing the matching, and a van or carpool network makes what was a barrier a non-issue. This single intervention has been documented to increase turnout in specific precincts by measurable percentages.
Denominational Frameworks: Ready-Made Infrastructure for Any Congregation
The United Church of Christ's "Our Faith Our Vote" campaign, the Episcopal Church's "Vote Faithfully" toolkit, the National Council of Churches' "Voting Matters 2024 Empowerment Guide," and the ELCA's "Civic Engagement" resources collectively provide more than 200 pages of IRS-vetted, ready-to-use civic engagement materials for congregations. These resources include bulletin inserts, sermon starters, voter registration drive guides, candidate forum formats, poll worker recruitment materials, and social media graphics — all verified to comply with 501(c)(3) requirements. No church needs to create its civic engagement program from scratch. The infrastructure exists. The decision is whether to use it.
UCC "Our Faith Our Vote" — Three Pillars
The UCC campaign organizes around three pillars: voter registration (registration drives, registration tables at Sunday services, online check-your-registration links in bulletins), issue education (nonpartisan issue guides, "Forty Days of Prayer as Our Nation Prepares to Go the Polls" devotional series, webinars on specific policy issues), and voter empowerment (GOTV activities, pledge-to-vote cards, rides to the polls). The framework works for any Protestant congregation regardless of denomination and is entirely nonpartisan in design and execution.
Episcopal "Vote Faithfully" Toolkit
The Episcopal Church's Vote Faithfully toolkit — vetted by the Office of Government Relations to comply with 501(c)(3) regulations — includes a complete candidate forum format, a congregation voter registration drive guide, poll chaplain program (faith leaders at polling sites to support voters experiencing suppression or intimidation), GOTV coordination materials, and bulletin inserts. The 2024 Parish Election Challenge (Episcopal + ELCA + UMC) encouraged congregations to publicly commit to facilitating voter participation and report outcomes. Churches that participated reported measurable increases in congregation voter registration rates.
Poll Chaplain Program
One of the Episcopal Vote Faithfully toolkit's most distinctive elements: a "Poll Chaplain" program where pastors, priests, imams, rabbis, and other faith leaders, in partnership with trained legal observers, are present at polling locations in areas where voter suppression or intimidation may occur. The presence of faith leaders and legal experts provides visible support to communities fearful of challenges to their voting rights. This is nonpartisan — it is not affiliated with any party — and it is a direct exercise of the prophetic public role of the clergy.
Candidate Forums
A nonpartisan candidate forum hosted by the church is the most civically powerful single event a congregation can run. Format requirements for IRS compliance: all candidates for a given race are invited; each receives equal time; the moderator asks factual, issue-based questions prepared in advance; no endorsement is implied or stated; the moderator does not editorialize. The League of Women Voters publishes candidate forum best practices and will often co-moderate church-hosted forums — providing additional credibility and logistics support.
Four Program Lanes — Run All Four in Election Years
The voter registration drive is the fastest to launch and the highest-return single activity. But the registration that produces durable participation is embedded in a year-round civic education and community organizing context — which is why the full four-lane program is most effective.
Voter Registration Drive
Year-round · Targeted spring + fall · Sunday tableA registration table at every Sunday service from January through the state's registration deadline, staffed by a congregation volunteer with registration forms (paper and QR code to vote.gov or rock-the-vote.com). Announce from the pulpit monthly: "Is your registration current? Are your family members registered? Check your registration at the table in the lobby after service."
Intensive drive periods: National Voter Registration Day (third Tuesday of September each year) and 30 days before major election deadlines. Partner with local NAACP, League of Women Voters, or state nonpartisan voter registration organizations who can provide trained volunteers and printed materials at no cost to the church. Track: number of new registrations per month; provide quarterly update to congregation.
Souls to the Polls + GOTV Mobilization
Election period · Transportation + remindersTwo weeks before Election Day (and during early voting): publish a sign-up sheet in the bulletin matching congregation members who can provide transportation with those who need rides. Coordinate a "Souls to the Polls" van or carpool for Sunday-before-election and Election Day. Announce election dates, polling locations, and voting hours from the pulpit and in every church communication channel.
Additional GOTV elements: childcare on Election Day evening for parents who need it to vote after work; a bulletin board in the narthex showing every race on the local ballot (nonpartisan — just the races, no endorsements); a text-tree or WhatsApp reminder on the morning of Election Day and primary day. Vote-tripling: ask every congregation member to personally remind three people in their network to vote.
Nonpartisan Candidate Forum
Election year · All candidates invited equallyHost a nonpartisan candidate forum for a local or state race — city council, school board, state legislature, congressional seat. Invite all candidates equally; provide equal time; use a prepared question list focused on policy issues relevant to the congregation's community (housing, school funding, public safety, health care access). Do not endorse. Do not editorialize. Provide facts and access.
Partner with the League of Women Voters for co-moderation and logistics support — they have run candidate forums for more than a century and will often join church-hosted forums at no cost. The church's large meeting room, parking, and community trust make it an ideal forum venue. Streaming the forum on Facebook Live extends the audience beyond the room. A 2-hour forum reaching 300 community members is among the highest civic-impact events a church can host.
Year-Round Civic Education & Issue Advocacy
Year-round · Sermons + classes + bulletinA year-round civic education program embedded in the church's existing small groups, adult education, and preaching calendar. Quarterly "civic education" sessions (60–90 minutes) covering: how local government works (city council, school board, county commission), how to track specific legislation affecting the congregation's community, and how to engage elected officials between elections (phone calls, public comment periods, town halls).
This is the lane that distinguishes a sustained civic empowerment program from an election-year voter registration table. A congregation that understands how the school board decides school funding, how the city council approves the police budget, and how their state legislature sets Medicaid eligibility is a congregation that participates in democracy between elections — and whose civic participation compounds over time. Use the UCC "Our Faith Our Vote" issue education curriculum or develop locally relevant materials.
Sample Annual Budget
The $1,500–$7,500/yr range reflects significant variation by whether the church co-hosts a candidate forum (the highest-cost element), whether it operates a dedicated transportation fund, and whether it hires a part-time civic engagement coordinator in election years.
| Program Line | Annual Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Voter Registration Drive Year-round table + intensive drive periods | $0–$300 | Registration forms are free from state and local election authorities. QR code to vote.gov costs nothing. Printed table signs and materials: $30–$80. Volunteer coordination: unpaid. League of Women Voters, NAACP, and Rock the Vote will often staff drives or provide materials in partnership. The incremental cost to the church for a year-round registration table is near zero. |
Souls to the Polls Transportation Fund Election Day + early voting · vehicle fleet | $200–$1,200 | If congregation members volunteer their vehicles, cost is gas reimbursement only (~$50–$150 per Election Day). If the church owns or rents a van: $200–$600 per election cycle including fuel. Childcare for Election Day evening: $100–$300 (staffed by youth group or paid childcare worker). Primary elections add a second round of costs in election years. |
Nonpartisan Candidate Forum 1–2 per election cycle · All candidates invited | $300–$2,500 | AV equipment rental if the church doesn't own: $200–$600. Printed programs: $50–$100. Livestreaming setup (Facebook Live via phone or laptop): $0–$100. Hospitality: $100–$300. A League of Women Voters co-moderation partnership reduces preparation time and provides credibility at no cost. At minimum cost with volunteer moderation and church AV: $100–$300. |
Year-Round Civic Education Program Quarterly sessions + ongoing bulletin content | $200–$800 | UCC "Our Faith Our Vote" and Episcopal "Vote Faithfully" materials are free to download and use. Guest speakers (city council members, school board representatives, policy advocates): $0–$200 (most will speak for free if invited respectfully). Printed civic education handouts: $100–$200/yr. Subscription to a nonpartisan policy newsletter for the civic education coordinator: $0–$100. |
Civic Engagement Coordinator Part-time in election years · Volunteer or stipend | $0–$2,400 | A civic engagement coordinator manages the registration table scheduling, voter education materials, candidate forum logistics, and GOTV coordination. In election years, this is a 3–5 hour/week commitment from September through November. A $200/month stipend during the 8-month election year active period ($1,600) is appropriate for sustained volunteer leadership. AmeriCorps VISTA placements provide full-time community engagement staff to qualifying nonprofit organizations at no direct cost. |
| Total (Full Program · Election Year) | $700–$7,200/yr | Non-election years: $300–$1,200 (registration table maintenance + civic education only). Foundation grants for civic engagement programs are widely available from: The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Democracy Fund, local community foundations with civic participation programs, and state-level voting rights organizations. The UCC, Episcopal Church, ELCA, and NCC all offer grants and technical assistance to congregations launching civic engagement programs. |
What the Math Means
Church Annual Cost
~$2,000
mid-range election year, all four lanes
New Registrations from One Sunday Table
50–200
annual registrations from a consistent year-round table at a 200-member congregation
Competitive District Margin Closed
Possible
200 new voters from one congregation can exceed the margin of victory in a city council, school board, or state legislative race
The Black–white voter turnout gap in 2024 was 11 percentage points. In Alabama, the gap would have produced 200,000 additional ballots if nonwhite eligible voters had turned out at the white rate. These are not abstract statistics — they are the concrete measurable consequence of the decision not to run a civic engagement program. A 200-member church that registers 100 new voters and provides transportation for 50 people on Election Day is directly visible in the precinct-level data. 200 votes from one congregation can decide a school board election. That is the stakes of this ministry.
First 60 Days — Launching Ahead of the Next Election
The registration table can launch this Sunday. The League of Women Voters partnership call takes 15 minutes. The "Souls to the Polls" transportation sign-up goes in next Sunday's bulletin. None of this requires a budget allocation before you start.
Three Actions Before Next Sunday's Service.
Visit vote.gov. Print the "Check Your Registration" QR code. Add a folding table to the lobby. Put a sign on it: "Is your voter registration current? Scan here to check. New to the area? Register here today." Ask a reliable congregation member to staff the table after each service. This costs $0 and begins this week.
Contact the League of Women Voters chapter in your area: lwv.org → find your state and local league. Call or email: "We are [church name] and we're setting up a year-round civic engagement program. We'd like to discuss co-hosting a candidate forum and potentially partnering on voter registration drives. Is there a program you have for faith communities?" Most local Leagues will respond within a week and are eager for faith community partnerships.
Download your denomination's civic engagement toolkit (links in the Resources section below), or download the UCC "Our Faith Our Vote" materials, or the Episcopal "Vote Faithfully" toolkit. These are free, professionally developed, and IRS-vetted. Read the IRS section. Name a civic engagement coordinator from among the congregation — a retired teacher, social worker, or someone with community organizing background is ideal.
Map Every Voting Date. Set the Candidate Forum Date. Plan the Four Civic Education Sessions.
Look up the full election calendar for your jurisdiction for the next 12 months: primary dates, registration deadlines, early voting periods, and Election Day. Write them on a single page and post it on the church's community board and share it in the church WhatsApp/text tree. Many congregation members don't know when primaries are — this single act of information-sharing can increase primary turnout meaningfully among motivated but uninformed potential voters.
Schedule the candidate forum date (4–6 weeks before the election) and begin contacting all candidates in one local race (city council district, school board seat, state legislative seat). The forum invitation letter should go to all candidates simultaneously, offer equal time and conditions, and include a neutral description of the church as a community institution — not as an advocacy organization. The League of Women Voters co-moderation partnership is the most important call to make before the forum — confirm them first.
Announce Souls to the Polls. Run the First Civic Education Session. Open the Forum Registration.
Announce the Souls to the Polls transportation program from the pulpit and in the bulletin: "We are organizing free rides to the polls for anyone who needs transportation on [Election Day] and during early voting. If you can give a ride, sign up at the table. If you need a ride, sign up at the table." The transportation coordinator reviews the sign-ups and builds the carpool or van schedule 10 days before Election Day.
Run the first civic education session: 60 minutes on Sunday after service. Topic: "Who makes decisions about our neighborhood? How local government works — city council, school board, county commission." Invite a city council member or school board member to attend and answer questions (nonpartisanly — they are answering factual questions about how the process works, not campaigning). Provide a printed "Who represents you" sheet listing all elected officials for the congregation's ZIP code.
What Goes Wrong in Church Civic Programs
Partisan Drift — Endorsing or Implying Endorsement
The most serious risk in church civic engagement is the blurring of the line between civic empowerment (nonpartisan) and political advocacy (partisan). A pastor who endorses a candidate from the pulpit, a voter guide that rates candidates on a scoring system that favors one party, or a candidate forum that uninvites a candidate at the last minute all create IRS compliance exposure.
- Establish a written nonpartisan policy for all civic engagement activities, approved by the church board, before any civic programming begins. The policy should state explicitly that the church does not endorse candidates and never will — and that any congregation member who implies otherwise while acting in a church capacity is acting outside church policy.
- Have all voter guides and forum question lists reviewed by the church's legal counsel (or a trusted attorney in the congregation) before distribution. This one step prevents the vast majority of IRS compliance issues.
Election-Only Engagement — No Year-Round Foundation
A church that activates only in October of election years registers voters who may not be connected to issues and may not turn out without a deeper civic relationship. Election-only engagement produces registration lists; year-round engagement produces mobilized voters who show up in primaries, midterms, and local elections — not just presidential years.
- Run at least two civic education sessions in non-election-year months (school board budget season, city council budget hearings, state legislative session are all natural civic education anchors). A congregation that learns to track the school board budget in February is the same congregation that will vote in the school board election in April.
- Maintain the registration table year-round, not just in election season. People move, people turn 18, and people lose their registration during moves — the year-round table catches all of these without requiring a special campaign.
Candidate Forum Without All Candidates
A candidate forum that invites only some candidates for a race — even with innocent intent, because one candidate didn't respond to the invitation — is not a nonpartisan forum. It is a political event that favors the candidates who attended. The IRS and the congregation's credibility both require that all major candidates be genuinely invited and that the forum be postponed or canceled if not all can attend.
- Send candidate invitations at least 6 weeks before the event date, with a clear RSVP deadline. Attempt contact through multiple channels (email, certified mail, phone call to campaign office). Document each contact attempt. If a candidate does not respond, the record of genuine invitation protects the church's nonpartisan status.
- Establish in the forum design: "If all major candidates cannot attend, the forum will be replaced by a candidate policy review using publicly available statements." This gives the church a graceful exit that preserves the community's civic education value even if the forum format isn't possible.
Discouraging Civic Engagement with Fear of Politics
Many pastors and church boards shy away from any civic engagement out of fear of "getting into politics." This fear, when unchecked, becomes a form of civic disenfranchisement — the church's institutional caution becomes a barrier to its congregation members exercising a fundamental civic right. The IRS rules are clear; the fear is largely uninformed.
- Share the IRS guidelines directly with the pastoral team and board. The Episcopal Vote Faithfully toolkit and the Alliance for Justice's "Be a Witness" guide both provide plain-language summaries of what churches can legally do — and neither is intimidating to read.
- Distinguish clearly between partisan advocacy (prohibited) and civic empowerment (permitted and prophetic). A church that registers voters, hosts a nonpartisan forum, and provides rides to the polls is doing exactly what the IRS permits and what the tradition demands.
Registration without issue connection
A voter registration table that collects signatures without connecting registrants to the issues their vote affects produces registered voters who don't turn out. The most effective registration is embedded in a conversation about what is at stake: "Your school board decides the budget for your children's school. Your city council member sets the housing policy in this neighborhood. Your state legislator votes on Medicaid and utilities. Here's how to make your voice heard on all of it."
No transportation plan until the week before
A Souls to the Polls program organized the week before Election Day cannot serve congregation members who need advance transportation planning — people who need to arrange childcare, request a work schedule change, or coordinate their schedule around the ride. Transportation sign-ups should open 3 weeks before Election Day, with a coordinator confirming every ride 5 days out. The logistics complexity is why this is the element most often done poorly.
Civic education only in English
A voter registration table and civic education program that operates only in English excludes the exact populations with the lowest registration rates. Latino eligible voter registration trails white eligibles by 13 points; language access is a documented barrier. If the congregation includes Spanish, Haitian Creole, or other language speakers, translate all registration materials and civic education handouts — and recruit bilingual civic engagement volunteers to staff the registration table.
Toolkits, Partners & Voter Infrastructure
UCC "Our Faith Our Vote" — Free Civic Toolkit
The United Church of Christ's Our Faith Our Vote campaign provides bulletin inserts, voter registration drive guides, a voter empowerment pledge card system, issue education materials, social media graphics, and a "Forty Days of Prayer" devotional series — all free and nonpartisan. Works for any Protestant congregation regardless of UCC affiliation.
ucc.org/our-faith-our-voteLeague of Women Voters — Forum Co-Hosting + Registration
The LWV has run nonpartisan candidate forums for more than a century and will co-host church forums at no cost. Their local chapters also provide trained voter registration volunteers, nonpartisan voter guides, and training for church civic engagement coordinators. The LWV's IRS-vetted forum format is the most legally defensible and credibility-building structure available for church candidate forums.
lwv.org/find-your-leagueCommunity Renewal Society — Faith-Based Community Organizing
CRS's "My Congregation Votes" campaign model provides a complete framework for linking voter registration and civic engagement to the specific issues a congregation is organizing around. CRS also offers training for faith community civic engagement coordinators and an annual conference for faith-based community organizers. Particularly valuable for congregations in Illinois and the Midwest.
communityrenewalsociety.orgVote.gov — Official Federal Voter Registration Portal
The federal government's official voter registration portal provides state-by-state registration links, registration deadlines, absentee ballot information, and polling location finders in multiple languages. The single most important URL for a church civic engagement program. Print the QR code; post it everywhere; include it in every bulletin from January through November in election years.
vote.govThe Turnout Gap Is Not Inevitable. The Church Is Not a Bystander.
"Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." — Amos 5:24
Every major civil rights campaign in American history was organized through Black churches. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was won in churches, marched for in churches, and mourned in churches when those who fought for it were killed. The movement that won the right to vote for millions of Americans was a church movement. The growing turnout gap — returning to 1990s levels in 2024 — is a call back to that work. The table goes up on Sunday. The van goes to the polls in November. The congregation is the organizing unit. The church is the infrastructure. Start this week.
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Put up the table this Sunday. The rest follows from that.
The Black–white turnout gap is at its worst level since the 1990s. In 43 competitive congressional districts, non-voting eligible voters of color outnumbered the margin of victory. The church is in the middle of the communities most affected. The IRS permits everything you need to do. Start this Sunday with a registration table. The van to the polls follows in November. The candidate forum follows next fall. Every step begins with the first one.