By Kelly Boggs, Baptist Message Editor
It is commonly held that elections in America are decided by a majority of the people. This is not true. Elections in the United States are decided by a majority of those who participate.
Unfortunately, too many evangelicals ignore the responsibility to be active and educated in our political process, so America suffers from moral decay. How can we as Christian citizens expect God to restore righteous leadership through us if we are unwilling to get involved? Citizenship in a free country is a blessing from God!
Voter registration drives are something churches are allowed to conduct. Given the dismal record of evangelical participation in recent elections, it is something that many churches should seriously consider conducting.
It is estimated that there are approximately 60 million evangelicals in the United States. Of that number it is estimated that between 40 and 50 percent are not even registered to vote. In the most recent general election approximately 20 million evangelicals actually voted, which is only 30 percent of those who were eligible to vote.
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” observed 18th century British statesman Edmund Burke. Could it be that evil has being on the rise in America because too many of God’s people have not done enough – including not voting?
So what can you do? You can pray, register to vote, become informed and vote for those who reflect your values. You can also encourage your church to conduct periodic voter registration drives.
The deadline to be registered to vote in Louisiana in order to be eligible to participate in the general election on November 6 is October 6.
“The duty [to vote] is ours,” said John Quincy Adams, America’s sixth presi