By Chris Hughes

As the country prepares for another pivotal presidential election, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is inviting churches and ministries to engage in the political process through a first-of-its-kind voting rights advocacy campaign. The campaign is a collaboration between CBF’s Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice and Leadership Initiative and CBF Advocacy, with the aim of engaging churches, small groups and individuals to help those historically left out and facing challenges as they exercise their right to vote.  

“Our goal is to have 50 CBF churches participating,” said Rev. Sharon Felton, congregational advocacy manager with CBF, who is leading the effort for CBF Advocacy. The campaign is not limited only to churches, however. “It may be a Sunday school class, or a missions/justice group. Maybe it’s the whole church. It could be the pastors on staff that sign up to be poll workers or they encourage others to be poll workers in their communities,” Felton added. “We want to leave it up to them to know what’s best in their context.” 

The campaign not only coincides with a consequential national election, but also comes at a time when voting rights are being limited in many states. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, since 2021 over 40 states have cumulatively advanced 322 restrictions that have been passed or are pending that limit voter participation. Felton says those restrictions fall disproportionately on those who are Black, indigenous, LGTBQ+, people of color, senior adults, college students and formerly incarcerated people. “It’s a justice issue for me and for CBF because the voter restrictions disproportionately impact these groups of people. And that’s wrong,” she shared.  

Felton explains the idea is for CBF churches, groups and individuals who sign up for the campaign to partner with nonpartisan voting rights groups. CBF is highlighting three groups in particular that churches can partner with—Vote Riders, Turnout Sunday and Common Ground —though people can choose any group with which to work.  

The focus of the campaign is on equipping people to vote, which can take on a variety of different activities, from voter registration to helping people apply for an ID, volunteering at the polls, letter writing, data entry and more. It could even be as simple as telling people when the voting period is in their community.  

“We want to make it easier for people to vote or as easy as possible for everyone to vote because I think our country works better when everyone gets to use their voice and everyone gets a chance to vote,” Felton shared. “We don’t care about party or economics or zip code. We just want people to vote.” 

“If we help 10 people get IDs to vote, that’s 10 people who get to use their voice that didn’t last time; and that’s a good thing,” Felton added.  

Even for those who live in states with strong voting rights records, there are still ways to participate. Felton says that people can get involved and work across state lines to help those who live where voting rights have been curtailed.  

The campaign also comes amid a time of widening political polarization, a stark reminder that churches are just one of a few spaces where Americans still encounter others who hold different opinions and beliefs on a regular basis. “Because so many of our congregations are already places where people come together who do not think in the same way, vote in the same way, or hold exactly the same convictions, we are uniquely suited to use our voices and our influences to interrupt the destructive, divisive and paralyzing partisanship that is breaking the fabric of our communities,” CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley said in a news release.  

Felton agrees that churches are particularly positioned to help overcome the growing political divisions in the U.S. “Nothing changes without relationships,” she shared. “Which is why I think churches are uniquely suited because we have, hopefully, deep relationships with people. And we can love one another in spite of our differences.”  

It’s an entirely new kind of ministry for CBF and for Felton, who is stepping into a newly-created position to engage congregations in the work of advocacy. A voting rights campaign is not something that white Baptist churches have done historically, Felton noted. Still, she thinks it’s very much in line with the Christian call to love God and love others.  

“Loving your neighbor is helping them use their voices, giving them the opportunity to use their voices,” she said. “Loving your neighbor is treating them with worth and dignity. It’s working for the best interests of everyone and making sure everyone has the opportunities afforded to them. We want to make a just world for all of us, not just certain privileged people. For me, that goes to the core of my faith practice: God calls us to love one another and be just to one another.”  

Having served in congregational ministry for over 25 years, Felton sees the work of advocacy in churches as digging deeper and understanding why problems like poverty, homelessness, inequality and racial injustice persist in communities. “I think it gives us a bigger picture, it’s stepping back to see why people are still hungry and still don’t have shelter, even when churches continue to donate food and money to those in need.”  

For Felton, voting is an act that gets to the root of some of those larger systemic issues. “A spiritual practice for me is loving and caring for people in my community; making sure people have enough to eat, safe shelter and quality public education. And all of those things are wrapped up in voting,” she shared. “How I vote is a spiritual practice for me.”  

It’s a spiritual practice she’s now inviting fellow Baptists to take part in this election year and every election after that.  

To learn more about the CBF voting rights advocacy campaign, go to cbf.net/votingrights.