“We’ve never done it at this level before,” said the Rev. Barbara Williams-Skinner, CEO and co-founder of the Skinner Leadership Institute, which is spearheading the effort with the Christian social justice group Sojourners and the National African American Clergy Network.
On Tuesday, Williams-Skinner said poll chaplains would be given a face mask with the logo of the group, so they can be easily recognized; a list of instructions; and a toll-free number to report any attempted intimidation or irregularities.
The Rev. Alyn Waller, senior pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist church in Philadelphia, joined the nationwide effort for the first time this year, after encouraging people to vote and been a regular poll observer since 2008.
In 2020, Waller said, “the stakes are a little higher this time.”
On Election Day, he started monitoring at dawn in front of his 5,000-seat megachurch and then visited precinct chaplains at 15 polling stations across the city.
So far, he said, the voting has been carried out peacefully. “We are optimistic that nothing has happened thus far, but we’re going to be vigilant for the rest of the evening,” he said.
At least 98.8 million people voted before Election Day, about 71 percent of the nearly 139 million ballots cast during the 2016 presidential election, according to data collected by The Associated Press. Given that a few states had already exceeded their total 2016 vote count, experts were predicting record turnout this year.
Not every person present from the faith community was a poll chaplain. Some showed up to pray for an unfettered Election Day. Others offered public support from afar: The Rev. William Barber, for instance, a leading liberal pastor who co-chairs the Poor People’s Campaign, livestreamed a prayer service from the steps of a church in Washington. Barber is also expected to host a Wednesday call with Sister Simone Campbell, a progressive Catholic social justice activist leader, to discuss the status of election results.
More conservative-leaning faith leaders and advocates were preparing their own message for Election Day as well. The Revs. Harry Jackson and Jack Graham were among evangelical allies of President Donald Trump who joined a livestreamed prayer event hosted Monday night by the Christian nonprofit My Faith Votes.
The Rev. Mariann Budde, bishop of Washington’s Episcopal diocese, said what’s at stake in the vote goes beyond mere partisan politics to touch on broader issues such as health care availability during the pandemic.
“Christians line up on the partisan spectrum wherever they line up, but these are gospel issues,” Budde said.
The Episcopal Church hosted an online training last month focused on civil discourse, and its presiding bishop hosted a Sunday interfaith prayer service joined by Jewish, Catholic, Sikh and Muslim leaders.
In the swing state of Florida, retired Episcopal bishop the Rt. Rev. George Young prayed before heading to the polls on Tuesday, wearing a white collar and a cross. Young said by phone that he hoped to offer a “calming and peaceful” presence outside polling places and to be available for any prayer requests.
Like many playing a similar role, Young said the presence of a faith leader at the polls might deter anyone seeking to intimidate voters.
“Whether it happens or not,” Young said, “many people are anxious.”
Article by Elana Schor, Luis Andres Henao and Jessie Wardarski. Schor reported from Washington. Associated Press reporter Mariam Fam contributed from Winter Park, Fla.
This article originally appeared on APNews.com
Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through the Religion News Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
