A Free and Fair Election

Dear Friends,

Across the country, people are making plans to exercise their voting rights, a beautiful manifestation of our religiously diverse democracy in action. IFYC was founded on the bedrock principle of democracy – indeed, our vision for an interfaith America only exists in the context of a country in which every voice matters.

I think of America as a potluck nation, a place where every person, every culture, and every tradition has an equal seat at a common table, bringing their own dish to a communal feast. The metaphor of a potluck nation also works in the context of voting. In a healthy religiously diverse democracy, every citizen deserves to have their voice heard, as all of our contributions make up the richness of our democracy.

IFYC stands in partnership with other civic organizations across the country who are committed to ensuring a free and fair election. We are also thinking about how we come together in the days and weeks that follow November 3. Even as we express our voices through the electoral process, we also re-affirm our commitment to e pluribus unum, the idea that we are stronger as a cohesive whole.

Over the next few weeks, IFYC will be in touch with you to share election resources and stories to support our democracy as well as bridgebuilding efforts in this divided time. We are continuously inspired by people like you, interfaith leaders committed to bridging deep divides so that we may have a common life together. Please reach out to me with any work you are doing that we may be able to highlight as we are stronger when we stand together.

In the meantime, we encourage you to think of ways to support a free, fair election process. Check out this blog post from our partners at the Democracy Fund to consider some simple steps you can take. Our friends at Braver Angels have penned an open letter that you can sign re-committing ourselves to the strength of our union. Our new We Are Each Other’s campaign also includes a simple curriculum that ends with action activities related to the election.