As the 2025 inauguration marks the end of the 2024 election season, poll chaplains reflect on the importance and the pride of their work promoting safe and fair 2024 elections.
Democracy takes maintenance and care, and poll chaplains offer a visible commitment to fellow citizens that their communities value their right to vote.
On the day of the election, many poll chaplains were pleasantly surprised to find that although they prepared for possible conflict or difficulties, the day was more joyful and upbeat than they’d expected. Rev. Dr. Dontá McGilvery met the owner of a cosmetology school who organized a bus to bring her students to the polls, and Bridget Moix met a group of seniors who took a bus to vote together.
Sister Barbara Pfarr was able to celebrate with many families bringing first-time voters, and she took photos of families together. Nomi Joyrich, who served during early voting days around Detroit, intervened to assist voters with mobility issues who had trouble standing in long lines.
Poll chaplains affirm that the vote is a sacred duty and right for American citizens and that every citizen should have the opportunity to vote and decide their community’s future.
Each of the poll chaplains below said that voters thanked them for supporting the election. Here are reflections of chaplains from across the country, in their own words, on their experiences during election day 2024:
Rev. Dr. Dontá McGilvery
State Lead, Faiths United to Save Democracy
Served 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Cartwright Center in Phoenix.
Why is the vote sacred to you?
Poll chaplaincy is a way for me to reach back and shake the hands of elders and ancestors who worked for my right to vote. As an African American male, I think about how religious leaders and faith communities marched on Bloody Sunday to expand that right. A vote is precious because I get to use my voice and research to vote for the leader I think will make moral, just, logical decisions and care for the least of these.
Nomi Joyrich
Michigan Director, Jews for a Secular Democracy
Served multiple days of early voting at various locations in the metro-Detroit area.
What was the day of the election like for you?
One thing that really struck me was how long the lines were and how unprepared everyone was for long waits. Several of us took this concern back to the voting rights coalition we are part of, and they actually found last-minute funding to provide line support. This allowed several organizations to send people to do things like bring chairs for people to sit in while they stood in line. We were also able to talk to the precinct chairs and help check the line and usher in people who were unable to stand. These experiences created concrete solutions to help elderly and disabled people to vote.
Why is the vote sacred to you?
I believe that voting is a sacred right and responsibility. We stand on the shoulders of people in this country and around the world who have fought and died for the right to vote. My mother came to the US as a refugee after she survived the Nazi Holocaust. Several years after she became a citizen, a federal judge invited her to come and speak about voting at the oath ceremony for new citizens. After my mom died, I found her copy of that speech. She talked about what is what like to lose all of her rights in her own country and then to immigrate to the US. She described her own citizen oath ceremony and how she and my grandmother put on their best clothes and proudly became citizens and how much it meant to her to be able to vote for the first time in her new country. After losing her rights once, she could never take it for granted.
Sister Barbara Pfarr
School Sisters of Notre Dame
Served 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Ben Franklin School in Milwaukee.
Why is the vote sacred to you?
In my religious community, School Sisters of Notre Dame, participation is one of the key values of our constitution. To be able to have one’s say and have agency is really important to me. I was inspired growing up by all the stories of the freedom fighters. A lot of people at my workplace are formerly incarcerated and have had their votes taken from them even after they’ve served their time, so that also informs how I value the right to vote. That said, voting is the lowest step of our sacred responsibility. We need to vote, to be educated on the issues and be out in the community making sure that everyone has what they need.
Bridget Moix
General Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation
Served Ohio in the Cincinnati area from 12 to 7 p.m.
Why is the vote sacred to you?
Quakers believe that the divine lives within each person, and that all people are equal in our common human dignity. Therefore, every person’s perspective is to be valued, and every voice should be heard. Voting allows us to put that belief into practice, in a way. It is also a vital part of our country’s continuing journey to live up to its promise of upholding the rights and dignity of all people, no matter race or religion, gender, class, or background. It is an act of practicing the beloved community together and a way of continuing to shape a more perfect union.
Leslie Virnelson is a Democracy Fellow at Interfaith America.
