Churches are gearing up to get folks to the polls as they kick off a GOTV (Get Out the Vote) campaign during the weekend of Oct. 29 and 30. The effort, “Souks to the Polls,” will involve preachers going to the pulpit and delivering special messages for the congregations.
“We intend to inspire, inform and ignite every pulpit and person in the pew,” said Dr. James Dixon, Community of Faith Church pastor and president of the Houston NAACP.
During the last session of the Texas Legislature, attempts were made to end “Souls to the Polls” by drastically changing the hours poll would be open on Sundays, thus rendering the effort mute. However, those attempts failed, leaving “Souls to the Polls” alive and well, and simply in need of participants.
Asked why “Souls to the Polls” is so important during this November’s election, Dixon said this:
“Because literally, we are facing the midterm election of our lifetime. The consequences nationally, and of course locally, are very, very severe. And we think that every soul to the poll has a seed of hope and responsibility to make sure that we vote our faith, vote our principles in order to emphasize our values and our faith to ensure a just world for our children and our children’s children.
“The other thing that is important is the sacrifices of the generations who came before us who shed their blood, their sweat and their tears to make sure we had a right to exercise our voice through our vote.”
Dixon sees no excuses for congregations not maximizing the power of “Souls to the Polls.”
“Here’s our conviction. Whatever stumbling blocks or barriers they put in our way, they would not be as severe as the barriers were for our ancestors, which means we’ve got to overcome those with faith and with a force and a determination that nothing will deter us, nothing will discourage us. We need people to vote regardless, whether you have to drive two miles, 10 miles, whatever it takes. We’ve got to get all souls to poll.”
For more details go to: www.naacphouston.org.
