Engaging Voters Year-Round
People vote when they feel their vote matters and they have ownership over the outcomes. That’s why Faith in Indiana’s voter engagement program starts with equipping ordinary people to talk to their friends, neighbors, and congregants about their vision for a more just and equitable Indiana and how voting is a first step toward that vision.
Since 2014, Faith in Indiana has run the largest all-volunteer run non-partisan voter engagement program in the state. We’ve engaged a voting bloc of 73,039+ Black people, women, immigrants, and young people, who are often ignored by traditional campaigns, over multiple cycles. Here’s How;
Prophetic Voter Sabbaths
Nearly 60% of Hoosiers attend religious service at least once a month, and even those who don’t say faith is foundational to how they view the world. Faith in Indiana’s multi-faith clergy are credible moral messengers who reach tens of thousands of people encouraging them to pray, vote, and act for justice. Hundreds attend our Souls to the Polls events each year. Our research shows a whopping 78.8% of people who pledged to vote during worship, show up on election day.
Relational Organizing
Relational organizing is at the core of Faith in Indiana’s strategy for change, and is highly effective when applied to voting. Relational Organizing - when we invite people to reach out to their friends and families – has been shown to increase turnout by 8.3 percentage points.
Deep Canvass conversations
In the same way, deep canvass conversations, which are lengthy, two-way, open-ended conversations about values, may take longer than the typical door-knock, but they are more than a hundred times more effective than the average persuasion method, according to a national study.
Studies conducted by Johns Hopkins University and the Analyst Institute show Faith in Indiana conversations increased turnout turnout 21% among Black voters, 14% among Latinxs, 21% among women, and 7% among youth.
Our work doesn’t stop on Election Day. We invite our voters to act with us all year long with invitations to; call your legislator, attend a town hall, or weigh in on our policy agenda.
With our partners at Act Indiana, we’re building a political home for people of faith to act together for a better Indiana. Learn about Act Indiana here.