PARISH VOTER REGISTRATION EFFORTS

CATHOLIC VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVES

AN IMPORTANT PRIORITY

Many Catholic parishes are holding voter registration drives to help enroll parishioners as registered voters.  This is perfectly legal.  No law prohibits Catholic parishes, organizations, schools or other facilities from holding non-partisan voter registration drives.  Because deadlines are approaching, these drives need to be planned and implemented soon.

Catholics for Obama across the country are volunteering to help parishes in these drives.  Of course, it is most important that Catholics in congregations that are mostly minority, low income, working class or part of the 47% conduct these drives.  It is a Catholic good work to help those who have not been fully included and empowered in society to participate in the political process.

These drives must be strictly non-partisan and not try to instruct people how to vote or pick and choose who they will register.  To do so is a violation of the law and will endanger your parish's tax status and good standing with the Catholic Church.

However, we know that most Catholics are planning to vote for Obama.  That alone makes these drives important and useful in re-electing the President.  When they are in minority or "47%" parishes, it will be even more helping in bringing in more votes for Obama.

Even in affluent, conservative, only whites parishes, research has shown that while these parishes might mostly vote Republicans, the subset of those who are not registered to vote still lean towards Obama.  So no matter what kind of parish you are in, the voter registration drive is helpful to the President's election.