Christian Action Commission

Who Will Get My Vote

Is it okay to assume you are going to vote? I hope you are not one of the 45 to 65 million eligible American voters who are not registered. Less than fifty percent of the voting population actually votes in any given election. What is even more troubling is that only about 43 percent of evangelical Christians actually bother to vote in any given election according to Focus on the Family.

Since you are going to vote, who will you choose in this upcoming election? John Quincy Adams, 6th U. S. President, said, “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th U. S. President, said, “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”

Perhaps one of the greatest privileges that goes unrecognized is the opportunity to cast a vote for the candidate of your choice. So many say, “I am just one vote so why does it matter?” By one vote the U. S. House of Representatives elected Thomas Jefferson as President of the United States in 1801. One vote elected Hitler as leader of the German Nazi Party in 1923, and one vote in 1941 kept the Selective Service Act intact just weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Your vote does count so cast it wisely.

Often the question is asked, “Where does this candidate stand on a particular issue?” The best place to find that answer is to ask the person running for office. If you call them or their campaign headquarters and ask in the proper way, they will tell you. Sometimes they might talk around the issue and never give you a direct answer and if that happens, they have indirectly told you what you need to know.

The Clarion Ledger recently published a couple of articles on the voting records of Mississippi State Senators and House of Representatives on a few bills they deemed important. It was not exhaustive, but it could prove helpful. Also, the Baptist Record has published the voting record on some issues, especially gambling and bringing the casinos in on land.

Use the internet to search out the voting record of incumbents. With a little time and work you can possibly discover where they stand on certain issues. It is vitally important to know how the candidates feel and vote on the critical issues.

Please allow me to suggest that you never vote for someone solely on name recognition or the fact that they go to your church. In addition, it is never fair to judge someone on one or two minor issues or votes. But if a candidate constantly votes wrong on issues critical to your faith, then help remove him/her from office by voting for someone different.

Louis L’Amour, American writer, puts it succinctly when he said, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”

If we desire a better Mississippi, then we must select men and women who love our state, honor God with their lives, and will vote based on their Christian convictions. Just remember, government is not evil, but it does reflect the character of those who sit in the seats of power and decision making.