Some voters in various East Valley cities on Tuesday will be going to houses of worship to vote. It may be unsettling to have to cast their votes on religious property. For others, it has become so routine, they hardly think about it.But some cannot accept church spaces as neutral ground to perform their public duty to vote. They may even be on the alert for anything that seemingly is “in their face and religiously obtrusive.
In the spirit of sensitivity, poll workers often work with staffs on church and temple campuses to put aside some of accoutrements of religion. If classrooms are used, Bibles are put away and the latest kids Easter resurrection in the voting room are taken down. Classroom are chosen over chapels or sanctuaries.
More than a few pastors have thought about putting something special in their signs’ marquees to catch the neighborhood voters passing through campuses on election day. Maybe “Vote today. Come back Sunday.”
Like it or not, houses of worship are nicely spread across the landscape, freely available on Tuesdays, with plenty of parking and easily accessible. Schools, likewise, are conveniently distributed but unused schools space can be an issue.
No doubt about it, strangers having to go to church campuses and navigate distinctly religious digs to get to a voting booth might be offended.
Last November, the Lehigh Valley County (Pennsylvania) election board used 58 religious spaces for polling places. Voters in Whitehall Township and the 12th District were assigned to vote at the Islamic Center of Lehigh Valley. Some voters said they were offended to have to do so, the Christian News Service reported.
About a half dozen people called and said they werent happy about it, but we were really lucky to be able to use the space, said Betty Hillwig, chief clerk of the county’s election board. She applauded the mosque leaders for generously offering its pace for voting and the center has agreed to allow its use more in the future. A Lehigh newspaper reported that a full third of the voters to the mosque expressed concern about voting there.
They would probably say the same about a Hindu ashram or maybe a Gospel Hall of the Jehovahs Witnesses.
In the final analysis, mature voters shouldn’t have a fuss. As they say, going into a Catholic church doesnt make you any more a Catholic than going into a garage makes you a car.
Thank you for this column and all the others you have written. They are very thoughtful and considerate of the diversity of beliefs, not just in the U.S. but worldwide. With such an outlook, who knows?, You may be spreading some undertstanding and compassion in the world, one community at a time. Thanks again.