Frequently Asked Questions

Question: How do we handle the situation if ICE is at the polls? | Answer: Current federal law (18 U.S.C. § 592) prohibits armed federal agents from being at polling places. However, if they show up at or near a polling place, you have the right, as with any federal, state, or local police, to observe, videotape, but not to interfere with official police business. Sign up for the Faiths United to Save Democracy (FUSD) Poll Chaplain/Peacekeeper Training at www.turnoutsunday.com. See Attorney Maya Wiley’s video on “Protecting Vulnerable Voters at the Polls.”

 

Question: Can you explain the SAVE Act? | Answer: The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (also called the SAVE Act or SAVE America Act) is a federal bill that would fundamentally change how Americans register to vote. Today, for example, https://www.vote.org can help you register to vote in minutes, online, from anywhere. Under the SAVE Act, voters would generally need to present documentary proof of citizenship, such as a passport or certified birth certificate, in person before completing registration, effectively eliminating most current online and mail-based registration methods. Visit Good News in Bad Times for basic talking points on The Save Act.

 

Question: What is the nationwide collaboration? Are there local leaders, an extension of your organization, that can help guide us? Do we coordinate a nationwide march as they have in the No Kings marches? | Answer: The National African American Clergy Network is partnering with national and local organizations in a Poll Chaplain/Peacekeeper program, and in voter registration, mobilization, and protection. You can also contact organizations like the https://naacp.org in your state about upcoming nationwide marches. Beyond marching, Faiths United to Save Democracy (FUSD) State Leads can guide you if you are in our priority states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, or Wisconsin. Visit turnoutsunday.com for access to FUSD State Leads on ways to prepare friends and family to vote for the leaders they need.

 

Question: What is the one main Movement/call to Action that we are asked to do at this point in addition to voting? What can we do to educate on voting rights in our community? | Answer: Voting and organizing others in your network to vote is a critical Call to Action today because our vote is under severe attack. As pastors, you can remind your members that voting is not just a political process for picking leaders who best represent their values. It is a moral spiritual mandate in Proverbs 31:8 to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themself." You can also take the following actions: (1) Visit www.turnoutsunday.com and download the Voter Protection Toolkit (page 10) with many voter education, registration, identification, mobilization and protection tools for preparing your members to vote; (2) Appoint a church-based voter readiness captain to help you arrange teach-ins on how to vote and what’s on the ballot, even though Pastors cannot tell their members how to vote; and (3) Set up an accountability system so you know members have voted. Encourage early voting to avoid election day crises. 

 

Question: Can the Supreme Court justices be charged with a crime or treason for not upholding the Constitution? Does the SCOTUS decision negate the CA and VA redistricting? How do you think this decision will impact the 2026 election? Is there time to still turn the ship around? | Answer: As Attorney Maya Wiley said, during her briefing, the Supreme Court cannot be charged with treason for not upholding the Constitution. They can be impeached through a legal and legislative process. The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling weakened a key enforcement tool of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As a result, states like Virginia and California that drew maps to favor Democrats are concerned over the future of Black political representation, particularly if Republicans regain full control of state governments after the next census. The Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais decision can impact the Midterm election, as many southern state legislatures in LA, MS, SC, TN, and AL have already begun using it to vote to eliminate majority-Black voting districts.  One idea for mobilizing voters for the massive turnout needed is the “Take Five” system.  In the next six months, reach at least 5 friends, family, co-workers, church members, and neighbors who are registered to vote, yet do not vote. Even one or a few votes can make a major difference in who is elected in the Midterms.

 

Question: Why can't our voting rights become a bill? | Answer: Our voting rights can be placed in a bill or legislation like the John Lewis Voter Advancement Bill, but it will take both the House and the U.S. Senate to pass it into law. That is why voting for leaders who will help pass laws that protect everyone’s right to vote is so critical.

 

Question: What can we do to stop the redistricting that's happening now in various states? | Answer: Black faith and civic organizations are mobilizing massive legal and organizing efforts to nonviolently resist efforts by state legislatures to restrict minority voting representation. We must mount robust voter education, registration, and turnout campaigns to reverse the devastating impact of the Supreme Court’s decision.

 

Question: How much more can we share with, or empower, young voters and those who feel their vote doesn't count? | Answer: We must help young people to know that their votes power the legislature. Contact Black Voters Matter Youth Outreach's Ms. Danielle Brown at danielle@blackvotersmatter-fund.org to learn about actions to educate and inspire young voters about how their vote matters. Take the Field Toolkit https://blackvotersmatterfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Take-The-Field-Social-Media-Toolkit.pdf; Louisiana vs. Callais, https://blackvotersmatterfund.org/louisiana-v-callais/

 

Question: Given the current legal and political landscape surrounding voting rights, what strategies—legal, grassroots, or cultural—have historically been effective in expanding access, and how might those approaches translate to this moment? | Answer: Responses to voter suppression and restrictive voting laws in the past that still work effectively include faith-based and/or church-led nonviolent resistance through prayer vigils, rallies, voter education and registration webinars, and teach-ins. Legal actions through powerful civil rights organizations like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (led by Maya Wiley), and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights also work.

 

Question: What can be done to ensure the Civil Rights Act is not gutted? | Answer: Remain vigilant in voter education so you help elect people who will protect the 1964 Civil Rights Act. 

 

Question: What is needed to vote? | Answer: Each state has separate voting laws, registration, and identification requirements. To find what is needed to vote for your state, visit www.turnoutsunday.com for the 50-state map and click on your state; also, visit www.vote.org

 

Question: Racism has been a part of the DNA of the history of the United States and is inextricably a part of partisan politics.  How do we both challenge and change the legal framework and standard of racial discrimination from having to prove the intent of racism to proving that there is no intent of racism? | Answer: Elect leaders who will enact laws to protect against restrictive voting laws that place the burden on those facing discrimination to prove racially discriminatory intent in the redistricting process. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, many State Legislatures are passing laws that move from showing the results of discrimination to forcing victims of discrimination to prove intent, which is extremely difficult 

 

Question: Are the churches approaching elected representatives to press them to raise our voices and concerns just as the clergy on the right is using their access to advance their values? Is there a type of vehicle where citizens or a committee of citizens can address either Congress or the Supreme Court to address grievances? Beyond our prayers and encouraging people to keep faith and keep voting, do we have any strategy to bring enough pressure to bear on Congress and the Court to curtail these regressive actions? | Answer: Voting for leaders who respect your values and respond to your interests is the first step in electing the kind of leaders you want in Congress. Other actions include meeting with your Congressional leaders when they host regular district meetings in your state and writing letters on the actions you need them to take to protect your interests. Your regular engagement forces Congress to respond to your actions, or during the next election, you can vote for other leaders who will respond. Sadly, six members of the Supreme Court are committed to ignoring the needs of minority citizens. However, voting for members of Congress who are responsive to your interests could lead to the passage of laws that the Court cannot easily overturn. Different denominational leaders from the A.M.E., A.M.E. Zion, C.M.E., COGIC, and National Baptist Convention, USA, churches spoke during the May 5th briefing on the Supreme Court’s attack on the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Several of them discussed their denomination’s voter action plan that included a visit to congressional leaders to express concern about the weakening of voting rights for Black, Latinos and Asian Americans. You can visit naacpldf.org or naacp.org to determine ways to address Congress and the Supreme Court on behalf of citizens and citizen committees.