Guidelines for Voter Registration in Churches:                                                   

 
Political Guideline for Pastors:                                                                              
 

 Pastors May:

• Engage in voter registration activities that abstain from stressing any one candidate or political party.  
• Distribute educational materials to voters (such as voters guides), but only those that do not favor a particular candidate or party.  
• Conduct candidate or issues forums where each duly qualified candidate is invited and provided an equal opportunity to address the congregation.  
• Invite candidates or elected officials to speak at church services. Churches that allow only one candidate or a single party’s candidate to speak can been seen as favoring that candidate or party. Exempt from this are candidates or public figures who may speak at a church, but must refrain from speaking about their candidacy.  
• Engage in lobbying activities as an individual and circulate petitions. A church may spend no more that an insubstantial amount of its annual budget (5% is a safe amount) on direct lobbying activities.  
• Endorse candidates in their capacity as private citizens and may allow their title to be used in that endorsement. Although a pastor is an employee of a church, it in no way limits his right to free speech as a citizen of the United States.  
• Participate in political committees that are independent of the church.  
• Have ushers distribute voter registration forms and pick up completed forms.

Pastors May Not:

• Endorse candidates on behalf of the church.
   
• Use church funds or services (such as mailing lists or office equipment) to contribute directly to candidates or political committees.
   
• Permit the distribution of material on church premises that favors any one candidate or political party.  
• Use church funds to pay fees for political events.  
• Set up a political committee that would contribute funds directly to political candidates.  
• Allow candidates to solicit funds while speaking in a church.

Ways to Encourage Voter Registration:                                                               

• Announcements from the Pastor on a monthly basis, and the two weeks prior to the deadline for registering  
• Have ushers pass out forms during the service.  
• Place the Voter Registration display prominently in the foyer  
• Man a voter registration table in the church or foyer  
• Encourage registration through church emails  
• Have volunteers visit Sunday school classes and promote registration  
• Place registration forms on vehicles in the parking lot  
• Encourage registration in the bulletin  
• Create and display signs for bulletin boards and foyer that encourage registration  
• Pass out voter registration forms as people enter or leave the service  
• Encourage voters to register as permanent absentees. Statistics show absentee voters vote more consistently.  
• Ask registered voters to take forms to give to those they know who need to register (family, friends, neighbors).