Vote

I voted today - we have permanent absentee voting here in Washington State. I normally wait until election day, but I just had to do it early this time.

If you are a registered US voter, don't forget to vote! Your vote counts.

• In 2004, the Washington State Gubernatorial election was decided by 133 votes
  
• In 2002, Colorado's 7th District Congressional Vote was decided by 121 votes
• In 1977, the Ann Arbor, Michigan Mayor's race was decided by 1 vote

Read more about why your vote counts in this nifty newsletter I picked up at Starbucks of all places!

Also, here are some resources if you'd like to discover the connection between your faith, concern for justice, and your vote.

• The Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center (where I minister) had an excellent newsletter on Faithful Citizenship this spring. You can read it online in PDF format. They've also got a listing of different resources on the website.

• The Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns has a great resource - US Elections: Loving our Neighbor in a Shrinking World
  
  
• The Friends Committee on National Legislation has an online "How to be a Peace Voter" toolkit
  
  
• This July, over 800 Catholics gathered in Philadelphia for the Convention for the Common Good. Read their platform and learn more on their website
  
  
• Every election year the US Bishops' Conference puts together a guide for Faithful Citizenship that is definitely worth a read. (As a bonus if you sign up for their faithful citizenship e-mail list you might win an ipod!)
  
  
• The Sisters of Mercy of the America's have set up an Elections Blog! They will have weekly reflections on elections issues through the lens of their critical concerns and our international reality. Go Sisters!

Most importantly, vote. Vote early if your state has early voting, or next Tuesday (Nov 4) if they don't.

This message brought to you by a former elections officer. I approve of this message!