It is both privilege and responsibility for Lutherans in the United States to approach Election 2020 as faith-informed voters. Aware of needs and priorities in our own lives and connected with our neighbors who are equally beloved children of God, “Lutherans care about government because it is a gift from God intended for the safety and flourishing of human life.”* We are civically engaged, mindful that “too often and in too many ways, this gift has been abused.”*

• Do you have your plan in place for voting?
• Can you encourage and inform others through your congregation and/or personal circles?
• Have you reflected on election challenges – for vote casting and after Election Day – in our unique 2020 context?

With mere days remaining in advance of Election Day 2020, here is a review of material associated with the ELCAvotes initiative.

VOTING BASICS

Rules vary state-by-state, which makes obtaining facts and planning ahead very important when challenges of polling in 2020 tweak familiar voting avenues.

If you’re looking for a place to start, the national, nonpartisan Election Protection coalition can direct you to state-specific information from 866ourvote.org as well as the nonprofit, nonpartisan technology platform vote.gov. This includes:

• Registration information
• Vote-by-mail information
• Deadlines
• Polling locations

SOCIAL MEDIA

Cherry-pick from archived ELCAvotes social media posts or use new items posted every Wednesday to share important messages in your and/or your congregation’s circles. On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @ELCAadvocacy, find messages for sharing including:

• Identify your polling location
• Thinking of voting early? Deadlines matter.
• Want to check if you are registered?
• What is your state’s early-voting and vote-by-mail options?

Use #ELCAvotes in YOUR posts  to help us all see & share!

VIDEOS

• A brand-new short video from the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop, raises “Civic Engagement in 2020” themes. View on YouTube, and pass along from Twitter and Facebook.
• Though the video is not new, “The Right to Vote” with Bishop Eaton also contains an important message. Find it on ELCA.org/votes and YouTube.

BLOG THEMES

While the ELCA Advocacy blog spotlights varied examples of Lutheran action, several posts carry ELCAvotes themes.

• Voting dialogue with persons with disabilities (10/16/20)
• Sifting through misinformation (10/5/20)
• Churches as polling places (9/17/20)
• Voting in 2020 takes personal and public planning (8/21/20)
• Voter suppression damage requires challenge (6/24/20)

Review from blogs.elca.org/advocacy/ where you can also sign up to have ELCA Advocacy blog posts sent directly via email.

WORSHIP, BIBLE STUDY AND PRAYER

Lutherans take time for study, prayer and worship in all things.

• New from ELCA Worship: “Worship Resources for a National Election”
• Latest Bible study among ELCAvotes resources: “Suffering and Rejoicing as One” (1 Corinthians 12:21-26)
• Other Bible studies at ELCA.org/votes.

Check for local vigils near you. Plans for a national prayer vigil through the Washington Interfaith Staff Community in which ELCA advocacy staff participate will be shared when finalized.

ADDITIONAL ELCA RESOURCES

Check out ELCA.org/votes and ELCA.org/resources/advocacy under the “Civic Engagement” tab for more information, including:

• Fact & activity sheet on race and voting
• Money in politics
• Voter guidelines for people facing homelessness
• ELCA Civic Engagement Guide with “Get Out the Vote” tip sheet and more.

FROM OUR PARTNERS

• Sacred Season of Voting resources to educate yourself and motivate others to go out and vote are offered by Faithful Democracy, with which the ELCA is in partnership through the Washington Interfaith Staff Community.
• Help staff your local polling place if you feel safe doing so. Our country is facing a shortage of poll workers because of the pandemic, and Power the Polls can direct you to sign up.
• Tools for strengthening community resilience during the election cycle and addressing possible election-related violence in communities is available from Faith in Public Life. See “Building a Resilience Network.”

TRUST AND CALM

In the unique environment of Election 2020, our faith-informed voices have much to contribute to inform, take action and proclaim that fear will not rule the day – before, during and after Election Day. In a media pool tainted with misinformation, cultivating multiple info sources and “knowing where to go to find accurate information or a different perspective about a topic is extremely helpful,” says a tip in the Misinformation blog post. Churches can play a role as trusted messengers in our communities.

• Is voter intimidation illegal? Are guns permitted at polling places? Does the First Amendment protect intimidating speech? These are a sample of questions answered by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center. Review the responses in their “Fact Sheet: Protecting Against Voter Intimidation.”
• Resources for addressing voter intimidation, including state-by-state guidance on explaining the laws barring unauthorized private militia groups near a polling place or voter registration drive, have been compiled by the same source from the page: “Addressing the Rise of Unlawful Private Paramilitaries.”
• The national, nonpartisan Election Protection coalition runs the hotline 1-866-OURVOTE (1-866-687-8683) in English and additional languages (use link or see graphic). Call it with questions, including if you encounter problems when seeking to cast your ballot. Legal help is provided by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.

With the increase in mail-in ballots and polling place challenges, it is highly unlikely that a winner in the presidential contest will be known on November 4. As our nation awaits results, we can be centered in the blessing:

“Go out into the world in peace; have courage; hold on to what is good; return no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak, and help the suffering; honor all people; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.” (from “Worship Resources for a National Election”)

* From the ELCA social message “Government and Civic Engagement in the United States: Discipleship in a Democracy.”

from the ELCA Advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, director

Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: October 2020

COVID-19 STIMULUS |  REFUGEE ADMISSIONS GOAL | TPS UNCERTAINTY | ELECTION 2020 IS HERE! | WELCOME NEW LEADERS

COVID-19 STIMULUS: At $2.2 trillion, the revised “HEROES Act” which passed the House on Oct. 1 is not expected to go further as bipartisan talks have broken down. Through the Circle of Protection, the ELCA successfully advocated for an extension of the Pandemic-EBT program through September 2021, a significant new tool for preventing childhood hunger. Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton joined a letter to Congress and the Administration urging swift approval of a COVID relief package that prioritizes those most at risk of hunger at home and abroad.

President Trump pressed negotiators in Congress to finalize a deal as soon as possible with greater spending limits, but there is little opportunity for the Senate to take action for needed relief before Election Day. As benefits to businesses and families in the greatest need continue to run out, it is critical for advocates to contact their lawmakers to pass a compromise deal that prioritizes relief that addresses the growing hunger crisis in the U.S. and globally as soon as possible.

REFUGEE ADMISSIONS GOAL: On the evening of Sept. 30, the Administration announced its new annual refugee admissions goal: a ceiling of 15,000 refugees, which is the lowest target in the history of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. A letter signed by 243 bishops and other rostered ministers called for resettlement of 95,000 refugees, the historic norm, delivered through Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS).

Through the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, the ELCA presiding bishop also issued a comment decrying the Administration’s historic low goal. An action alert through LIRS is available for individual expression of concern. The goal was announced publicly in a manner unlike formal presidential determinations which have undergone a traditional consultation and signing process in the past.

The administration has consistently lowered the refugee admission ceiling over the years despite growing need globally. Presently, only 10,892 refugees have been resettled this fiscal year. COVID-19 severely disrupted refugee resettlement. By late July, it was clear that the U.S. was not on pace to meet the already low 18,000 target.

TPS UNCERTAINTY: A preliminary injunction blocking the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for people from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan has been lifted by a Sept. 14 decision in Ramos v. Wolf. The toll on families is extreme as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and TPS recipients live in a perpetual state of limbo and fear of being returned to countries mired in social and political crises.

The Ramos decision also opens the way for the termination of TPS for people from Honduras and Nepal that are being challenged in a separate case. Urge the Senate to take up and pass the “American Dream and Promise” Act (H.R.6), one of few legislative vehicles to support TPS, DACA, and DED recipients by establishing a pathway to citizenship, with the Action Alert “Press for American Dream and Promise Act.”

ELECTION 2020 IS HERE! Factual, nonpartisan information from reliable sources is valuable as the 2020 election cycle advances to Nov. 3. Share ELCAvotes posts from @ELCAadvocacy on social media in your circles (new posts on Wednesdays plus archived posts available). The ELCAvotes initiative stems from 2013 Churchwide Assembly action and is led by ELCA Advocacy, Racial Justice Ministries, and Young Adult Ministry.

Both in the Civic Engagement series and with ELCAvotes, find resources and blog entries including Bible studies, “Sifting through Misinformation,” “Money and Politics,” and much more.

WELCOME NEW LEADERS: Despite the challenges of getting started from one’s home base and device connection, new additions have been welcomed to advocacy staff. Giovana Oaxaca will bring leadership through the position of Policy Director for Migration; and three Hunger Advocacy Fellows have begun service. These enthusiastic and gifted young adults are Taina Diaz-Reyes, Larry Herrold and Kyle Minden.

Diaz-Reyes is now part of the D.C.-based ELCA advocacy staff, Herrold is part of the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania staff, and Minden is part of the Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin. We’re excited to be working together!

Receive monthly Advocacy Connections directly by becoming part of the ELCA Advocacy network – http://elca.org/advocacy/signup , and learn more from elca.org/advocacy .

By guest blogger Carol A. Johnson, ELCA Coordinator, Disability Ministries, Grants and Schools

We are close to the national day designated to vote in the United States of America for our nation’s president and other congressional representatives in our state and our nation. Persons with disabilities take great pride in going to vote, but some do experience obstacles at the voting polls or even in registering and/or voting by mail.

Twenty five percent of American citizens are known to be living with a disability; another 25% of citizens are over the age of 60 and may benefit from talking with someone about when and how they plan to vote. While some may vote by mail, some may prefer to be out at the polls with other citizens – which is their right even if COVID-19 complicates this year’s national day of voting. As adults, they should be able to decide for themselves when and how they will vote.

Please consider being in dialogue with persons with disabilities about their desire to vote, about their opinions about those running for office, and consider asking what might make that day or even that week or month meaningful for them. Perhaps someone might like to go to polls when you do so that you might become more familiar with their experience. You may be surprised at the joy and independence felt despite any struggles.

We are a nation of many people who are more alike than different. Inviting someone and listening, rather than acting charitably, may be the best way for you to help someone living with a disability serve their country as a voter. Members with disabilities are your equals, your siblings in Christ, your neighbors – and are often impacted as much as yourself, if not more, by persons elected to serve as leaders of our country.

For more information and to get connected, visit ELCA.org/votes. Learn more about ELCA Disability Ministries from ELCA.org/our-work/congregations-and-synods/disability-ministry.

In weeks approaching the election, we are awash in messaging. Not only are we seeing politician-approved ads, but likely also items in categories* including propaganda, lies, conspiracies, rumors, hoaxes, hyperpartisan content, falsehoods and manipulated media. Such misinformation undermines healthy democratic processes and discourages civic engagement. “The political health of our nation still suffers from the stain of antidemocratic exclusion. Efforts to restrict access to voting should be condemned and resisted,” warns the ELCA social message “Government and Civic Engagement in the United States: Discipleship in a Democracy.” Much misinformation feeds this problem. Guidance to advance our public life in the social message reads, “There is a sharp distinction between public service and private gain, a distinction measured by the straightforward question ‘Whose good is being served?’”

What’s the problem?

Material from The Episcopal Church* cautions: “Audiences that mostly consume mainstream media see far more false insider stories and conspiracy theories than they might realize. While mainstream media itself remains highly reliable, online algorithms that favor content with high engagement instead of content with high veracity make it easier to transmit misinformation to these audiences through widely-used platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.”

When Hunger Network in Ohio, part of our Lutheran state public policy office network, reflected on online engagement, they wrote: “Social media offers everyone a chance to help shape the news and the content that each other sees. This is both a blessing and a curse…” They continued, “False news hurts our ability for civil discourse and wrestling with difficult issues to find solutions.”

Consuming a blip of information may take just a moment, but taking extra moments to clarify that information’s source and intent can help keep us from fanning destructive tendencies that divide us. “It seems that we want to cut ourselves off from each other,” said Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton in her video address “We are in this together” (9/25/20). “Not only do we disagree, but we say the other is wrong, or they say we are wrong, or we accuse each other somehow of mounting a platform – like we want to divorce each other. But this is not possible. In baptism, the Spirit has forged us together in a bond that is unbreakable by any human sin or even by our anxiety or our desire to get away from the other side.”

What can we do about it?

Check out the wide ranging exploration of a spectrum of misinformation, malinformation and disinformation, created and spread by “jokers, scammers, interest-driven entities, conspiracy theorists, ‘insiders’, celebrities, or your friends and family,” available from The Episcopal Church.

“Misinformation, Disinformation, Fake News: Why Do We Care?“

We won’t catch all that is streaming past us, but we can help stop contribution to the problem.

Among remedying tips in the piece is: “Consuming high-quality, diverse media improves our understanding of the world and equips us to identify and critically evaluate misinformation. Even if you don’t follow every trusted source closely, knowing where to go to find accurate information or a different perspective about a topic is extremely helpful.” Then there are the three questions to run through before you “re-share that tweet, or tell a friend about that surprising headline you saw.” Where’s it from? What’s missing? How do you feel? [See graphic for additional description.]

The feeling when we share should be the affirmation of contribution to constructive discussion. “We are one body in Christ,” proclaimed Presiding Bishop Eaton. “This is the witness we in the ELCA need to give to the world and to understand and live ourselves.”

*”Misinformation, Disinformation, Fake News: Why Do We Care,” post from Office of Government Relations of The Episcopal Church (May 21, 2020 update), content shared by permission

By the Rev. Kaari Reierson, contractor with ELCA advocacy

The impacts of COVID-19 on U.S. citizens are simply unfathomable. Over 200,000 people have died. Unemployment is the highest it has been in the last 70 years. Tens of thousands of businesses have closed.

As difficult as COVID-19 and its many effects have been for those in the U.S., the effects have been multiplied in other parts of the world. As of this writing, the death rate in the United States is eleventh globally. The world’s economy is predicted to be pushed to a recession greater than any since World War II, putting millions more people into poverty.

As the U.S. Congress debates how to assist its citizens, Lutherans are reminded that whatever is happening on U.S. soil is happening elsewhere in the world, in many cases amplified. Unemployment is confronting people with no savings – and no social safety net. Illness is afflicting people with minimal health care. Food scarcity is threatening people with no resources.

In response to a desperate world in 1939, Lutherans in the United States founded Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service to assist Europeans displaced by World War II. Lutherans continue to participate regularly in international efforts to serve the neighbor and guard human dignity, through presence at the United Nations (U.N.), post-war relief in Europe, and engagement in development work and disaster response among many ways. ELCA social teaching recognizes that the U.S. plays a vital leadership role in world affairs and also has an obligation to share its resources with less wealthy nations.

Will our nation respond to the suffering imposed by COVID-19 outside of U.S. soil, or will we only take care of “our own?” Will the U.S. participate fully in international organizations working to quell the pandemic as our Lutheran history and social teaching would urge us to do?

To turn the tide of a virus as contagious as COVID-19 requires a coordinated effort by the international community. The pandemic respects no national boundaries. If the U.S. refuses to engage with and help resource multilateral organizations such as the World Health Organization and U.N., it is not only failing to fulfill its moral obligation, it is endangering its own future. “U.S. support through bilateral foreign assistance programs is also vital to heavily impacted low-income countries,” says Patricia Kisare, ELCA Program Director for International Public Policy. “As members of Congress work on the next COVID-19 stimulus package, they must include funding for international response to address the tremendous needs caused by this pandemic.”

Illustrated by the history of Lutherans in the U.S., expanded in our Lutheran teachings, and sourced in the words and life of Jesus, caring for others is God’s work. “For the Christian, empathy is one way in which love and compassion (Matthew 25:31-46) may be embodied in the world of civil authority, through God’s left-hand work,” reads the ELCA social message “Government and Civic Engagement in the United States.”

You are invited to use “Take Action on the Next Coronavirus Supplemental Bill” in the ELCA Action Center to ask Congress to incorporate international relief measures as it moves our nation’s pandemic response into law.

According to data presented by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, over 230,000 polling places were used in 2018. Less than 1% of those were located at election offices. Most were at schools, community centers… and churches.

The need

Experience during primary elections in our nation have led some to conclude more polling places are needed before the November 3, 2020 general election. Myrna Perez, director of the voting rights and elections program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, is quoted in an AP news article saying, “In the best of times, really long lines are deterring and disenfranchising. In the time of the coronavirus, long lines can be deadly.”

Several ELCA congregations have opened their facilities as polling places in previous elections. Is this a way your congregation wants to steward its building in 2020? State laws govern where polling places can be located, but ELCA Legal and Risk Assessment colleagues also have some advice to share on churches serving as polling locations.

Some considerations

Before your church responds to a request or steps out to offer to be a polling place, key issues must be considered in addition to operating by COVID-19 guidelines and mandates: (1) accessibility, (2) security, and (3&4) insurance/liability.

(1) If the municipality uses the church as a polling place, it should be accessible. Officials should make an accessibility determination in the portion of the building and parking lot being used for voting. Additionally, it is always a good idea to inventory the property for safety hazards.

(2) If the church has a preschool, school or similar activity in the building that is still open, security steps must be taken to make sure that there is separation between the operating school and parts of the building accessible to the public. For example, voters may be directed to a specific door and part of the building but not be allowed access to the other portion. Some churches just close the school for election day (like many public schools do).

(3) Make sure the congregation’s insurance carrier is aware of the facility’s use as a polling place to assure coverage if something happens. The aforementioned safety hazards inventory of the area being made accessible to the public can be assuring.

(4) Proof of insurance for a location as a polling place should be available from the voting authority.

• • Request that the voting authority provide the respective church with a current insurance certificate evidencing the following type of insurance and coverage.

Commercial General Liability:

(a)  Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability with a $1,000,000 limit per occurrence
(b)  Personal and Advertising Liability with a $1,000,000 limit per person or organization
(c)  Products and Completed operations with a $1,000,000 limit per occurrence and in the aggregate
(d)  General aggregate with a $3,000,000 limit

• • It is very important to confirm that the church is indicated as being insured on the certificate. This confirmation may look something like: (INSERT Name of Church) is named as an additional insured under the (INSERT Name of Voting Authority’s) commercial general liability policy.

Uniquely this year, being a polling place means observing best practices in this time of pandemic. Request that the voting authority comply with all federal, state and municipal COVID-19 guidelines and mandates including those regarding masking, social distancing, equipment wipe down and sanitizing product availability. Guidelines to minimize the risk of transmitting COVID-19 at the polls are discussed in a joint release from The Brennan Center and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Taking the next step

“For Lutherans, one way Christian vocation finds expression is through dedicated, competent public service,” states the ELCA social message, “Government and Civic Engagement in the United States: Discipleship in a Democracy.” No voter should have to choose between their safety and their fundamental right to vote in November states BrennanCenter.org which shares the joint guidelines. The ELCAvotes initiative grew from the social policy resolution, “Voting Rights to All Citizens,” which calls on us to engage in local efforts and support legislation guaranteeing the right of all to vote. With planning and awareness of best practices, your congregation may be just the place to help facilitate democratic expression in your community and be of public service.

Contact your county Board of Elections to find out how to designate a place you are connected with as a polling site. The American Association of People with Disabilities also has tips on making this connection.

“We’ve been a polling place in this precinct for more than 40 years,” said Jeff Garrison, Church Council President of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fairfax, Virg. “It is just part of what we do. We feel it is a ministry to our community to make available a safe environment to vote.”

This text will soon be available as a pdf from ELCA.org/votes and ELCA.org/resources/advocacy.

As we approach the end of the federal government’s fiscal year on Sept. 30, the Administration is considering how many refugees to welcome in 2021. Although refugee admissions have gone down each year of the current Administration, we know refugee admissions have not been eliminated due to strong advocacy – particularly from the faith community. Reflections from our summer intern give us background and conclude with an opportunity for us to again respond with impactful advocacy as the calculation is being made.

RAISING THE REFUGEE CEILING

By Jenn Werth, summer intern with ELCA advocacy

According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the number of refugees on the African continent has nearly tripled over the past decade, yet the number of refugees the United States admits every year has continually fallen. As a church dedicated to supporting compassionate survival assistance and vigorous international protection for refugees*, it is essential that we hold our country responsible to increase the number of refugees it admits**.

Lutherans have a strong history of providing hospitality to refugees resettling 57,000 refugees in the United States post World War II, resettling 50,000 refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos after the fall of Saigon in 1975, and providing sanctuary for refugees endangered by wars in Central America in the 1980s***. Today the ELCA remains active in many ways, including through its AMMPARO program, Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities. AMMPARO helps ensure basic human rights and safety of migrant children from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

With such a deep focus on the accompaniment of immigrants and refugees in one small part of the world, it can be easy to lose sight of the international expanse of refugee populations. In 2019 alone, the Lutheran World Federation supported 1.3 million refugees and internally displaced persons, most of whom reside in African countries including but not limited to Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Cameroon. We as a church can be a strong voice for both the refugees we work with close to home and the refugees we support from countries across the globe. As it is written in Leviticus 19:34, “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt”.”

Immigration, refugee and asylum policies not only can be evaluated against who we are as a church, but also express our character as a nation. As the United States commits to receiving fewer and fewer refugees every year, dropping from 45,000 in 2018 to 30,000 in 2019 to 18,000 in 2020, our country is not meeting the expectations we as a church have for a generous policy of welcome. The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) calls on Congress and the current Administration to raise that ceiling to 95,000 refugees. As advocates for generous immigration and refugee policies, we can use our voices to support the efforts to raise our refugee ceiling rather than allow further reduction.

* ELCA social statement For Peace In God’s World, pg. 20
** ELCA social message on “Immigration,” pg. 9.
*** “Immigration,” pg. 3

TO LEARN MORE

See “Frequently Asked Questions: Refugee Ceiling and the Presidential Determination” prepared by LIRS.

ACTION OPPORTUNITY FOR ROSTERED MINISTERS:

Over 240 rostered ministers urged the president and Secretary Pompeo to commit to resettling 95,000 refugees in fiscal year 2021 by signing a Sept. 24 letter prepared by the ELCA AMMPARO and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) advocacy teams.

TWO OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR FAITH-BASED ACTION organized with the Interfaith Immigration Coalition in which the ELCA participates:

Join the #RefugeesWelcome2021 Campaign. Encourage your state and local elected leaders to express support for welcoming refugees by signing onto this letter.

Write letters-to-the-editor (LTEs) for your local media outlets. Here is a sample LTE that you can use/adapt for your message, as well as step-by-step instructions for how to draft, pitch, and place an LTE. Please contact media@interfaithimmigration.org if you have any questions or need help.

by Tessa Comnick, Hunger Advocacy Fellow

Like many people, I have spent the last several months living out of my house. While that may not seem like a significant statement—I mean, houses are where we live—living out of my house has taken on new meaning. It’s now where I socialize (virtually), where I work, where I sleep, where I eat… and soon it will be where I vote in the 2020 election.

I have actually voted by mail for the past several years, coming from a state with no-excuse absentee ballots (that means you don’t need a reason why you cannot physically be present at a polling place to use a mail-in ballot). When I decided to work at my local polling place one year, this habit ended up being very fortuitous. I voted from the comfort of my own home so that I wouldn’t have to think about it during my long (but rewarding) fifteen-hour-day as a volunteer. As that day dragged on, I even thought: “Why doesn’t everyone vote by mail?”

But there are reasons everyone doesn’t vote by mail. It’s different for me than it is for others. I have no disabilities that keep me from being able to send in a paper ballot, requiring a voting machine to confidently and privately vote. I have a home address, one that didn’t change even when I was at school or completing fellowships. I don’t come from a socially marginalized and/or oppressed group that has learned not to trust certain systems because they have continually failed me. The question that flew through my head never took into account experiences that weren’t exclusively mine.

We as a country cannot operate in a one-size-fits-all paradigm, especially with something as crucial as our right to vote. We need to prepare ourselves for a 2020 election that enfranchises everyone’s vote. Mail in voting should be expanded during the current global pandemic crisis, but it should not be the only option.

• SUPPORT MAIL-IN ACCESS – Currently there are 16 states that still require specific reasons or excuses to request an absentee ballot. A nation-wide no-excuse absentee ballot system could help keep lines down, keep the system from getting overwhelmed, and allow high-risk individuals to continue saying home, all while still providing the opportunity for in-person voting for those who need it.
• LIMIT MAILED BALLOT REJECTIONS – Read and share local voting by mail information so that mistakes, such as a missing signature, do not result in ballot rejections. This information should be available in multiple languages and in multiple forms, so as not to exclude anyone without access to internet.
• GET SPACES READY – Polling places should be available for those who will not vote otherwise. Some voters with disabilities, voters with language access needs and American Indian and Alaska Native voters among others need safe, in-person options for fair access. Buildings that are currently sitting closed, like churches, could be used as polling places. Guidelines to minimize the risk of transmitting COVID-19 at the polls can be followed, such as those jointly issued by The Brennan Center and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
• IS BEING A POLLING WORKER FOR YOU? – Over half of U.S. poll workers were 61 years of age or older in the 2018 general election. In 2020 we could face a shortage. Youth and young adults should consider working on election day (hello to making it a National Holiday!) to help keep those at higher risk safe. When I did it, the day was long, but I heard an endless supply of “thank yous” showing appreciation for an open, accessible system from which to vote. I did not know what faith traditions voters followed, if any, but love for our community connected us in a way that was intrinsically divine. For me, I feel God’s presence strongest when I am among my community, expressing my love for every single member. God’s love is for us all, indiscriminately.

For you and your neighbor, what’s your plan? Learn what qualifies for an absentee ballot in your state. Instructions on how to register and vote-by-mail need to be effectively planned and widely distributed months before an election, to ensure equal access to those who may choose to mail-in their vote. Learn about becoming a poll worker if that sounds right for you. And contact your county Board of Elections to find out how to designate a place you’re connected with as a polling site.

And if you want to encourage election considerations in the next COVID-19 stimulus legislation, write to your lawmakers using the Action Alert “Take Action on the Next Coronavirus Supplemental Bill” at ELCA.org/advocacy/actioncenter. And learn more about the ELCAvotes initiative at ELCA.org/votes.

Every vote counts, and so does every decision on how to vote.

from the ELCA Advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, director

Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: August 2020

COVID-19 STIMULUS PACKAGE  |  HUD HOUSING RULES  |  INTERNATIONAL INTERSECTIONS  |  ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION BILL SIGNED  |  DACA MEMORANDUM

COVID-19 STIMULUS PACKAGE     The next federal stimulus package to address COVID-19 impacts remains in negotiation. While Congress is presently in the traditional period of a recess, scheduled to end September 7, lawmakers are aiming to reconcile differences. A temporary 15% increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits has been a continuing interfaith advocacy effort in this new round of COVID-19 legislation. Use the Action Alert to urge this and other considerations in the far-reaching package.

We are grateful for the engagement of ELCA bishops and network members who reached out to key leaders about advancing the temporary SNAP increase. House, Senate and Administration leaders are making steady progress over a compromise economic spending bill. However, resolving widespread differences between the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES) passed in the House and the proposed Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools Act (HEALS) introduced in the Senate before taking the break could stall the process deep into the traditional summer recess.

HUD HOUSING RULES    In a busy month, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced in early July that they would be advancing an initiative to weaken implementation of the 2016 Equal Access Rule, which would undermine transgender and non-binary protections for people seeking shelter. Also, HUD Sec. Ben Carson announced that the administration would take steps to roll back key racial housing protections in the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Rule.

Since 2016, homelessness among transgender people increased 88% and could face greater challenges and barriers to shelter access if the rule is further weakened. Reconciling Works and ELCA Advocacy shared a joint Action Alert in opposition of the new changes which facilitates action during HUD’s open public-comment period through September 22.

Discriminatory housing practices have been at the core of systemic racism in the U.S. for generations – right up to present day. The changes to the AFFH rule will water-down enforcement of the civil-rights era Fair Housing Act, stopping requirements for localities to take steps to report and address patterns of segregation in their communities. Hundreds of Lutherans issued opposition to the rule through the ELCA Action Center in the spring when the comment period was open. The ELCA Advocacy office will continue to push for policies that promote racial justice in housing as the proposal likely moves through litigation.

INTERNATIONAL INTERSECTIONS     ELCA Advocacy is working in partnership with Jubilee USA Network members urging the U.S. government to support expansion of debt relief for highly indebted poor countries. We are asking for the U.S. to support provision of low interest grants called Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) through the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will provide funds to countries to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The House passed the NO BAN Act July 22 which would repeal the travel ban on citizens of 13 countries. Our Action Alert remains live to facilitate contacting senators who next will consider the legislation. Additionally, for a long time the international community failed to effectively prevent and respond to gender-based violence at the onset of humanitarian emergencies. Initiatives such as Safe from the Start have moved this issue at the forefront of humanitarian work. Our Action Alert can be used to urge your senators to co-sponsor the Keeping Women and Girls Safe from the Start Act.

ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION BILL SIGNED     On August 4, President Trump signed the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act of 2020 into law offering more federal resources for national parks, wildlife refuges, Indigenous public lands and our crumbling public land infrastructure. Lutheran advocates have collaborated with many in a slow-building movement for years to promote better stewardship principles for our nation’s public lands.

In addition to helping address the great backlog of infrastructure projects at the Department of Interior, the bill will permanently authorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, allowing more resources for the federal government to acquire “lands, waters, and interests therein necessary to achieve the natural, cultural, wildlife, and recreation management objectives of federal land management agencies.”

DACA MEMORANDUM     A July 28 memorandum on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) from the acting secretary of the Dept. of Homeland Security may begin the process of dismantling this needed form of protection. Even as suffering and sacrifice in this time of pandemic require national focus, the administration is prioritizing taking away protections and setting the stage for further disbanding of DACA.

Our advocacy focus remains a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. DACA recipients are members of our communities and churches who have grown up in and contribute to the U.S. An Action Alert is available to urge lawmakers to codify protection before it is further eroded.

Receive monthly Advocacy Connections directly by becoming part of the ELCA Advocacy network – http://elca.org/advocacy/signup , and learn more from elca.org/advocacy .

by Kirsti Ruud, Intern, Lutheran Office for World Community

In response to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council (UNHRC) urgent debate regarding racially inspired human rights violations, racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protesters, an ecumenical call was issued. The ELCA joined the call on June 18 to establish an international commission of inquiry “into the on-going human rights violations of African descendant people in the United States and globally.”

“As Christians believing in the love of God and the call for justice in the Judeo-Christian scriptures,” the joint statement proclaims, “we join with organizations around the world in calling for change and to the upholding of the human rights of African descent people.”

As an intern with the Lutheran Office for World Community, I have the incredible opportunity to “sit-in” on virtual meetings to observe the UN and civil society members actively wrestle with the world’s greatest challenges. An intersectional lens is largely maintained in conversations, making it clear that existing inequalities like racism and xenophobia create differentiated experiences within a crisis. Be the agenda refugee displacement, climate change, and/or COVID-19, existing inequalities too often lead to further oppression of the most marginalized. During the June 18 debate, all speakers condemned racism in all its forms as a scourge on society.

THE URGENT DEBATE

While recent world-wide demonstrations speak to the global nature of discrimination against and oppression of Africans and people of African descent, the African countries who collectively requested this specific urgent debate identified the murder of George Floyd by police and other human rights abuses within the U.S. as cause for international investigation. Condolences were expressed to George Floyd’s brother, Philonise, who had appealed to the Council at the onset: “I’m asking you to help me. I’m asking you to help us Black people in America.” There was also consensus regarding the need for international, national, and individual responsibility in order to eliminate the scourge.

Here, paths diverged. Supporters of the Africa group’s call for an international commission of inquiry highlighted the systemic nature of the problem and thus the failure of existing systems to successfully dismantle racism rooted in the U.S.’ long legacy of slavery and imperialism. Tendayi Achiume, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, highlighted the ways in which existing UN mechanisms aimed at eliminating racism on a global scale are already over-burdened. “Failure to establish an international commission of inquiry,” she says, “would signal that Black lives do not matter, or that if they do, they do not matter enough to mobilize the Human Rights Council to intervene where it should.” Delegations expressing their opposition to creating a commission of inquiry emphasized the need to address racism globally rather than single-out a particular country. Historically imperial powers themselves and/or allies of the U.S., largely expressed confidence in the U.S. and its justice system to dismantle racism.

In the end, Council members compromised by adopting a resolution calling for the High Commissioner for Human Rights to “prepare a report on systemic racism, violations of international human rights law against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies, especially those incidents that resulted in the death of George Floyd and other Africans and of people of African descent, to contribute to accountability and redress for victims.” While this resolution falls short of the level of accountability many were calling for, it is a significant moment. As noted by Human Rights Watch in a Washington Post article, the resolution “nonetheless set the stage for an unprecedented look at racism and police violence in the United States — over the efforts of U.S. officials to avoid the council’s attention — and showed even the most powerful countries could be held to account.”

FROM GLOBAL TO INTERNAL

As I listened to the debate happening on the floor of the UNHRC in Geneva condemning institutionalized racism, I thought about the institutions of which I am part in the United States and the ways in which racism and anti-blackness permeate and fester in all areas of society, even within our houses of worship. Just June 17, the ELCA observed the five year Commemoration of the Emanuel Nine who were horribly murdered during a Bible study at the hands of an ELCA member and self-proclaimed white supremacist. Racism isn’t just everywhere, it’s right here.

My faith proclaims that Jesus not only stood in solidarity with the most marginalized, portraying an inclusive vision of the Kingdom of God, but he challenged, called-out, and was perceived as a threat by powers with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Too often, people like me (white, middle-class Christians) read Scripture and identify only with those in Jesus’ good favor and not with empire. Can we acknowledge that racism exists and that we benefit from white privilege? Can we face our comfort and really put ourselves out there, really confront the systems from which we benefit economically, socially and legally at the expense of Black, Indigenous and people of color? Acknowledging that we are a diverse community but still the whitest denomination in the U.S., what would it mean for me, for you, for the ELCA to truly be in solidarity with those in our community who black liberation theologian James Cone names in his book In his book The Cross and the Lynching Tree “the crucified people in our midst?”

CALLS BEYOND WORDS TO ACTIONS

I am proud that the ELCA stood in solidarity with the 54 African countries and over 600 human rights organizations calling for the UNHRC to strongly investigate racially inspired human rights abuses in the U.S. I am also heartened that the statement we signed includes asking members as individuals, churches, and communities to:

• Call for an end to militarization, police violence, the killings, and all other forms of violence against African descendant people;
• Commit to dismantling racism and discrimination in all forms;
• Embrace and encourage an anti-racist environment within communities with commitment to accountability; and
• Commit to reflection and introspection that will increase personal awareness and ways to be engaged in solving this global problem.

As several speakers noted in the urgent debate, it is critical that such statements do not remain in word alone. We must muster courage to put faith into action and follow the lead of Black, Indigenous and people of color in our community who have been taking action all along.

Creating God, we pray that you stir within us a courage to embrace your call for justice. Comfort those who are grieving. Help us to name racism as systemic sin and to challenge it boldly, even where it dwells in our own hearts. To those of us with the unearned privilege to ignore the pain, grief, and anger, may we feel implicated, connected, and transformed into action by the Gospel call to love our neighbor and challenge the powers that crucify. Amen