GA Faith Leaders Unite to Demand that Elections Boards Count Every Vote
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2020
MEDIA CONTACT
Michelle Nealy, mnealy@faithinpubliclife.org, (202) 735-7123
Austin Schuler, aschuler@faithinpubliclife.org, (540) 280-3393
Graham Younger, gyounger@faithinpubliclife.org, (678) 739-8584
GA Faith Leaders Unite to Demand that Elections Boards
Count Every Vote
Atlanta, Ga. — On Wednesday, November 4th, Georgia faith leaders held a press conference to call on Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and local elections boards to ensure every vote is counted before certifying election results.
As people of faith, we know every vote is sacred and every person’s dignity entitles them to a voice in our representative democracy. When election officials take the time to verify and count every ballot, that is a sign our democracy is working. Georgia election officials must fulfill their responsibility to count every vote.
To watch the full event, click here.
Rev. Guillermo Arboleda, Rector, St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, (Savannah):
“We must do all in our power to hold our elected and appointed officials accountable to the rule of law and a high moral standard. The stories of the Bible frequently remind us that people in power rarely volunteer to use their power for the common good. They need prophetic voices from the community to hold them to account. So we must call on election officials to do what they are legally required to do, what they have sworn to do — namely, to count every vote.”
Rev. Billy Honor, Director of Faith Organizing, New Georgia Project, (Atlanta):
“At this moment, the primary concern of the faith leaders I’ve spoken with is that the will of the people be respected. In this election, the people have chosen their leadership, and we demand that every vote is counted so that when a government is sworn in, it will truly be a government of, by and for the people.”
Min. Shavonne Williams, Georgia Organizing Ambassador, Faith in Public Life, (Augusta):
“As a Christian, my fundamental values are listed in Galatians 5… the fruit of the Spirit to include love, joy, peace and patience. We need to peacefully await the counting of the ballots. We call on every local election official to accurately count every vote before finalizing the election. We ask our Georgia Secretary of State to not certify the elections or declare a winner until every vote is counted. We will draw on our values and patiently await a complete count.”
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Faith in Public Life is a national movement of clergy and faith leaders united in the prophetic pursuit of justice, equality and the common good. Together, we are leading the fight to advance just policies at the state and federal level. Our network of 50,000 leaders engage in bold moral action that affirms our values and the human dignity of all.