Well, my name is Debbie Wethnau. I’m the President of iVoterGuide.com, a Christian ministry with the mission to equip the church to vote wisely, especially faith-based voters, to understand what’s on their ballot and where each candidate stands. Our role is to research candidates and provide an online voter guide that looks at what candidates have done, not just what they say they’re going to do. We conduct deep research into candidates’ past actions, how they’ve used their influence, and their voting records if they’ve held office. They also fill out our questionnaire, and an army of volunteers helps us assign a rating to each candidate, ranging from far left to far right, to give voters a snapshot of each candidate’s political philosophy. It’s easy to use — go to ivoterguide.com, enter your voting address, and you’ll see the races and candidates on your ballot, complete with a little “gas gauge” that you can click to see all the data for yourself.
That’s great! We have listeners in just about every state, so let’s focus on the presidential election. As Christians, we believe life is precious, murder is wrong, and we should stand up for those who don’t yet have a voice. We believe that gender is determined lovingly and purposely by our creator and that marriage is sacred, between one man and one woman for life. What will we find in iVoterGuide concerning presidential candidates on these issues?
Well, on the issue of life, the differences are not as clear as they were in the last presidential election. The Democratic candidate supports abortion up to birth and beyond; she’s blatantly pro-choice. President Trump was a pro-life president, though there has been some weakening in his stance. For instance, he said a six-week ban in Florida was too early. Pastor Gary Hamrick from Virginia even mentioned that there isn’t a strongly pro-life candidate on the ballot — we have one who is more supportive of life and one that’s definitely against it. But in general, you can read all the different quotes and stances in our voter guide. While it’s not as strong a pro-life stance as I would like for my presidential candidate, we provide as much data as we can find.
Right, and those are some of the same issues that concern me and many others. We’ve seen troubling data recently, reflecting how many evangelical Christians didn’t vote in the last election. It’s concerning that about 104 million people of faith, including 32 million self-identified Christians who regularly attend church, are unlikely to vote in this year’s presidential election. This number comes from two surveys, and the most common reason cited was a lack of interest — more than half said they disliked the major candidates. How would you encourage Christians who are considering not voting?
I think this lack of interest stems from a lack of teaching about engaging in culture. Many churches shy away from politics and focus only on Jesus. However, Jesus engaged with politics and sent his apostles to speak to leaders. I believe it’s essential to teach the biblical responsibility to vote despite the polarization and the fear of “Cancel Culture.” People avoid participation due to the extremes.
George Barna’s research offers hope. Although many said they wouldn’t vote, if their church taught them voting as a biblical responsibility, they might reconsider. Additionally, if they received unbiased, objective briefings about candidates, they might vote. This points to the need for trustworthy, unbiased information, like iVoterGuide offers, from the presidential level down the ballot.
Election integrity is a big issue. How confident can we be that we will see a fair election nationwide on November 5th?
I can’t guarantee it, though strides have been made since 2020 and 2022 to tighten voter rolls and close loopholes. The aim is to make it easy to vote but hard to cheat. Some states have made progress in ensuring that non-citizens cannot vote, but mail-in voting poses challenges. I see it as the biggest challenge because it can be abused. Some states must be questioned regarding fair elections, though others have tightened processes. In general, it will be better than in 2020, but we must remain vigilant by working polls or being poll watchers. In-person early voting is also beneficial, spreading out voting opportunities and reducing election-day issues.
Great! It’s interesting that you mentioned Virginia. The governor is cleaning up voter rolls there, and the Biden-Harris administration is suing to stop it. That speaks volumes about their agenda.
We have a couple of minutes left. Can you tell us about the “Pray for Leaders” section on your iVoter website? As Christians, how can we get involved?
It’s a wonderful way to get involved. God commands us in 1 Timothy to pray for those in authority over us so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives. We need to pray no matter who is elected. Our “Pray for Leaders” feature sends a daily weekday email with a devotional, guided prayer, and one of your elected officials’ names and photo. Over a two-week period, you’ll pray for the President, Speaker of the House, governor, senators, state senator, state representative, and even your school board. It’s a great way to be biblically engaged and support those in authority over us.
Folks, I hope you’ll share this clip with all your Christian friends who are considering not voting.
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