VOTER GUIDE

A Successful 2020 Faith Climate Justice Voter Campaign

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Reprinted from the national IPL Blog

The Results are in: 2020 Faith Climate Justice Voter Campaign Research Shows Campaign had a Measurable Impact

By Tiffany Hartung, Field Director

IPL’s 2020 Faith Climate Justice Voter Campaign inspired and mobilized people of faith to take a critical climate action: voting.

Congregations, faith communities, and volunteers around the country helped mobilize faith voters to vote their values of caring for Creation and loving our neighbors.

While 2020 was IPL’s first civic engagement campaign at such scale, we were able to build a multi-faith, multiracial coalition. The campaign worked nationally with a focus on seven states where IPL state affiliates organized by collecting voter pledges, recruiting faith leaders to give sermons, distributing a voter guide through congregations, and commissioning a poll of religious voters. Our work grew into a multi-faith coalition of groups also doing their first-time civic engagement work at scale.

A couple months into the pandemic, people were attending worship services by Zoom, which made organizing congregants extremely challenging. IPL made the decision to reach out to faith voters beyond our base, given our base supporters were already good voters. With the help of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC), we crafted a campaign to reach out to infrequent faith voters likely to be receptive to climate messages. For four states, we created an experiment to measure the impact of that voter outreach.

The Experiment

We knew we wanted to reach infrequent voters, people of faith, and people with whom a climate message would resonate.

We crafted an experiment with this research question: Does the text campaign increase voter turnout among the treated group who received messages from IPL volunteers?

We created a list of 235,847 infrequent (low-propensity), likely to be climate alarmed, religious voters in North Carolina, Minnesota, Michigan, and New Hampshire.

Voters were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group. The order of the lists were randomized, so that anybody who wasn’t texted because volunteers didn’t make it all the way through the list was considered randomly assigned to the control group. Roughly half of the list was held as a control group and did not receive any communication from IPL.

Voters in the treatment group received text messages from IPL volunteers working on the campaign.

Our campaign incorporated voter outreach best practices of a voter pledge, sharing our non-partisan multi-issue faith voter discussion guide, asking them to get three friends to vote, and get out the vote.

Experiment Results

The analysis shows that IPL’s voter outreach program increased voter turnout by 1.7 percentage points. The model suggests that 1,455 additional people voted because of the campaign.

These results show that this portion of IPL’s voter outreach program had a measurable impact. In fact, other studies show texting to increase voter turnout by about 0.5 percentage points.

While this experiment did not encompass the full breadth of our campaign work, it does provide a snapshot of our campaign impact. IPL will apply this learning to our future voter outreach and civic engagement. Stay tuned for our 2022 Faith Climate Justice Voter campaign.

 

Mark Your Calendars: Green Amendment Day on July 13

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Green Amendments For The Generations is launching National Green Amendment Day, featuring special actions that folks can take to spread the word as well as a virtual panel discussion with environmental justice leaders from across the nation at 5:00pm MT. Register here

 

Panelists and Speakers include two prominent New Mexicans, State Sen. Antoinette Sedillo and Terry Sloan.
  • Kim Gaddy, Founder and Director of the South Ward Environmental Alliance
  • Kerri Evelyn Harris, Community Organizer and Advocate
  • Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, serving New Mexico’s 16th District and lead sponsor of the NM Green Amendment
  • Maya van Rossum, Founder, Green Amendments For The Generations and the Delaware Riverkeeper
  • Terry Sloan, Director, Southwest Native Cultures, Member of NM-IPL board of directors
  • Dr. Sacoby Wilson, Associate Professor, Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health
The Panel will be moderated by Maria Payan, Senior Regional Representative at Socially Responsible Agriculture Project (SRAP) and Sussex Health & Environmental Network (SHEN).
Read Full bios
Help bring new voices to the table! Please extend the panel invitation to other civil rights, environmental, environmental justice and Indigenous leaders and community members that may be interested in learning more about the power of Bill of Rights protection for strengthening environmental justice.

NM Faith Leaders Add Their Voices to Letter Urging Congress to Pass Sustainable Infrastructure Bill

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More than 40 New Mexicans  were among the hundreds of faith leaders nationwide who signed a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urging Congress to pass a bold economic recovery and infrastructure package that creates family and community sustaining jobs while caring for our climate and our neighbors.

We urge you to support historic levels of investment that will safeguard Creation, address the impacts of climate change and pollution from fossil fuel extraction and related industries, and fulfill our moral obligation to leave a habitable world for future generations. Black, Indigenous, and people of color(BIPOC) and low-income communities have been hit the hardest by the triple health, economic,and environmental crises we face. The needs of these communities must be at the center of any infrastructure package. 

Read full letter

Read quotes from four national faith leaders

In New Mexico, faith leaders from Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Taos, Carlsbad, Raton, Chapparral,  Jemez Springs, Gallup signed the letter. A separate version of the letter will go directly to our congressional delegation.

Rev. Talitha Arnold, United Church of Santa Fe

Tanya Barlow, United Methodist Women Conference Vice President, New Mexico Conference

Rev. Dr. Holly Beaumont, InterfaithWorker Justice – New Mexico

Carolyn Begay, United Methodist Women Conference Spiritual Growth Coordinator, New Mexico Conference

Reverend Judy Bierbaum,

Rev Ronald Brooker, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Joan Brown, Executive Director Sr.,Order Of St. Francis, New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light

Rose Marie Cecchini, Mm, Sr.,Maryknoll Sisters

Alfred Chavez, St. Joseph on the Rio Grande Parish

Dr. Gene Chorostecki

Rev. Edward Church, Church of the Good Shepherd, Albuquerque,

Catherine Clemons, Sister, Catholic Church in Mobile, Alabama

Rev. Dr. Kenneth Cuthbertson, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – retired

Rev. Jean Darling, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Fe

Rev. Dr. Gregory Gaertner, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Andrew Gold, Maggid, Kol Ha Lev’

Dr. Michael Gregory

Dr. D. Hart

Caroline Mb Hess, Bahá’ís of the East Mountain

Rev Sue Joiner, First Congregational United Church of Christ

Rev. B. Gail Joralemon, First Congregational United Church of Christ, Albuquerque

Nicholas King, Pastor, Carlsbad Mennonite Church

Rev. George Kunkle, St. Bede’s Episcopal Church

The Rev. Benjamin Larzelere, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America(Evangelical Lutheran Church inAmerica) Retired

Rev. Erica Lea-Simka, Albuquerque Mennonite Church

Dr. Reeve Love

Dr. Alston Lundgren, Retired

Rev James Marshall

Patricia Masterman, Deacon, Holy Family Episcopal Church

Anne Morawski, Pastor, Holy Cross Lutheran Church Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Dr. Nathan Nielsen

Dr. A. Obermeier

Rev. George Packard, Wisconsin Conference United Methodist Church

Nancy Poe, Raton United Methodist Church

Rev. Dr. Dusty Pruitt, United Church of  Christ

Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld, Congregation Albert

Dr. Emily Rothman,

Anne Salaun, Sr., Assumption Sisters Chaparral NM

Laura Sandison, Albuquerque, NM

Rev. Pamela Shepherd, Taos United Community Church

Charlotte Smith, Baha’i

Sue Stefford-Grey, President of the Board, First Christian Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico

Dr. Shari Tarbet

Rev. Glen Thamert, Jemez Peacemakers

The Rev. Daniel J. Webster, Episcopal Church

On Tuesday, June 30, Faith in Public Life and Interfaith Power & Light released a voter reflection guide endorsed by prominent national faith groups and religious leaders. The guide, Democracy, Values & the 2020 Election, addresses urgent issues in the election, including voting rights, climate change, systemic racism in the criminal justice system, healthcare and immigration. The guide, which will be distributed across the country for discussion in diverse faith communities, includes topics for reflection and sample questions to ask candidates  Download Full Guide Here

Download Spanish-language version of the guide, Democracia, Valores y las Elecciones de 2020

Issues and Questions

Democracy and Voting Rights (Page 1)

This election is more than a choice between parties and ideologies. An even more fundamental question is at stake: Can we preserve democracy in the face of serious threats to fair elections and fundamental rights?

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. How do you see democratic values at risk today?
  2. How do systemic barriers to voting undermine our most sacred democratic values?
  3. How can your faith community better advocate for stronger voter protections at the state and local level?
  4. As a candidate, what are your specific plans for protecting and strengthening voting rights?

Protecting God’s Creation Climate Justice for our Children and World (Page 2)

As people of faith, we believe that responding to the urgent threat of climate change is essential to caring for God’s creation and loving our neighbors. Human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels for energy, has thrown
nature out of balance, polluted the air, driven thousands of species of God’s creatures to extinction, intensified catastrophic events such as wildfires and hurricanes, and threatened the lives and livelihoods of our most vulnerable brothers, sisters and neighbors around the world. Scientists tell us we have less than a decade to avoid even more catastrophic consequences.

The United States has a unique responsibility to show moral and political leadership:

  • Transitioning our economy away from polluting fossil fuels toward 100% clean energy.
  • Honoring the emissions-reduction commitments our nation made at the UN Conference on Climate Change in Paris in 2015, and taking additional actions needed to avert catastrophic global warming.
  • Assisting developing nations— who are least responsible for climate change but most impacted by it — in coping with threats such as increased droughts, disease, and sea-level rise by sharing technology and financial support.

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. What does your faith teach about our responsibilities for the Earth and to others? How are they interdependent?
  2. Has your faith community made an effort to cut emissions, save energy, or practice environmental stewardship?
  3. As a candidate, what specific policies do you support to protect God’s Creation and secure a safe climate for our children and future generations?

Loving Our Immigrant Neighbors (Page 4)

Scripture repeatedly makes clear that immigrants must be treated with dignity. Policies that rip children from their parents’ arms, lock people away in inhumane conditions, and ban desperate families from entering the country
should keep us awake at night. As people of faith, we believe that the way we treat our immigrant neighbors is a sign of how we treat God.

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. How can we replace immoral immigration policies that tear families apart and cause trauma with an immigration system that values families and affirms the dignity of allv people?
  2. What can we do to heal the wounds inflicted on immigrant communities by political rhetoric that portrays them as a dangerous “other?”
  3. If there are immigrants in our community who are feeling isolated and under threat, how can we show support and build connections?
  4. As a candidate, what will you do to defend the dignity of all immigrants, and how will you further policies that keep families together?

The Last Shall Be First An Economy of Inclusion (Page 5)

Our economic systems should work for all Americans, not only the wealthiest few. This is a matter of justice and
human dignity. All religious traditions recognize that charity is essential to care for the most vulnerable, but helping our neighbors in poverty also compels us to address its root causes. “Charity is no substitute for justice withheld,” St. Augustine observed centuries ago.

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. What can we do to ensure that all Americans are able to provide for their families and live with security and dignity?
  2. How do we create a just tax system that is fair to all Americans, including working families who are trapped in poverty?
  3. Why does the United States lag behind most developed countries when it comes to providing paid sick leave and paid family leave?
  4. As a candidate, what are your specific plans to ensure workers have living wages and economic security while the coronavirus pandemic continues, as well as for the long term?

More Health Policies in a Time of a Pandemic  (Page 7)

Despite our nation’s stated values of life and equality, the United States is the only industrialized country in the world that does not guarantee its residents universal access to health care. This is a failure of political and moral imagination – especially in a time of pandemic.

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. How can people of faith be most effective in using our stories, congregations and power to advocate for health care reform?
  2. What do you struggle with the most when it comes to our healthcare system?
  3. How has the COVID-19 crisis impacted your community? What policy solutions can keep us all safe and remedy racial and economic inequalities in your community?
  4. As a candidate, what are your specific plans for making sure that quality,
    affordable health care is available for all?

Restorative Racial Justice (Page 9)

Justice and redemption are at the very heart of faith. Restorative justice begins with listening to and empowering communities that have been exploited, excluded and denied equal representation and freedom. The evil ideology of
white supremacy shaped our nation from its founding and continues to impact policies and communities today, especially in the criminal justice system. The killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and so many other Black people, Indigenous people, and other people of color, has provoked a growing, multi-racial moral movement for accountability and systemic reforms for racial justice.

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. How can we dismantle the evil ideology of white supremacy in our culture and political systems?
  2. What can be done to end racial profiling and police violence against people of color?
  3. What steps can be taken to ensure formerly incarcerated people have voting rights and fair access to employment?
  4. As a candidate, what will you do to ensure racial justice is prioritized in the criminal justice system?
  5. How do we build safe communities for everyone, particularly people of color?

Made in the Image of God: Respecting the Dignity of LGBTQ People (Page 11)

All people have inherent dignity because everyone is created in the image of God. Our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender family members, neighbors and co-workers deserve equal rights, and to live without fear or discrimination.

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. How can your faith community more fully support the equal dignity of LGBTQ people in your state and local area?
  2. What are the greatest threats to LGBTQ people in your community and the nation?
  3. As a candidate, what are your specific plans to ensure that LGBTQ people have equal rights and are treated with dignity

The Global Common Good:  We’re All in This Together (Page 12)

What does it mean to love our neighbors as ourselves in a globalized world? The health and future of our country and
communities are interconnected to the health and security of other nations. Our  fates are bound up in what Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., called “an inescapable network of mutuality.”

Questions for Reflection and Candidates

  1. What policies do you think are most important for creating security for your family and community?
  2. What role should the United States play in the world to help build global peace and security?
  3. How can your faith community advocate for policies to create a more peaceful world?
  4. As a candidate, what programs and policies would you prioritize to help build secure communities and a peaceful world?