Mt. Zion UCC is working to get out the vote in North Carolina!

Check out this great update from North Carolina, where Mount Zion UCC is engaging it’s members and community in the 2016 elections through voter registration, education and mobilization as part of the Our Faith Our Vote campaign. Rev. Dian Jackson was interviewed by United Church News.

“In this presidential election year, voting is extremely important,” said Jackson. “Every Sunday we have a booth and are registering our church members and their friends to vote.”

Photo: Mount Zion UCC/Facebook

A pastor for six years at Mt. Zion, Jackson is using her partnerships in the community to open doors so she can help others understand their right to vote.

“We are working not just in our faith community, but with people in the Richland County jail and local housing developments, answering questions and giving out information.”

In addition to organizing around information and registration, Jackson is also trying to rally other churches in the area to work together to get people to the polls, using vans to pick people up at area nursing homes and take them to voting sites or to get absentee ballots into the hands of eligible voters. She noted she is targeting the African American community. Why?

“Traditionally [the African American community] doesn’t come out to vote on a large scale other than for presidential elections. We are asking people to know what the candidates say they stand for, and make your informed decision. We want people to understand their vote really does count.”

What’s at stake in this election? County leadership, which greatly impacts the lives of those in Richland County.

“Richland County is growing so much, we want the diversity of the board of county commissioners to reflect the diversity of the population.”

I’m feeling so inspired by all the great work that is happening at Mount Zion and in Richland county! It’s exciting to see the creative partnerships that are being formed as our churches engage in the Our Faith Our Vote campaign. Read the full story to hear more about how UCC leaders are engaging in the 2016 elections.