Just hours before the December 7th deadline to register new voters, members of The Light of the World congregations from Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia volunteered to help Georgians register to vote in the monumental runoff election in January. Dozens of The Light of the World volunteers drove hundreds of miles to canvass with potential voters in the 72 hours before the deadline.
The voter registration event was held at The Light of the World congregation in Marietta, Georgia, on Saturday and Sunday, December 5th and 6th. Volunteers canvassed throughout the city of Atlanta. These efforts facilitated the registration of dozens of new voters, and also assisted many others to confirm their voter status.
But the greatest success of this initiative was actually the volunteer-run hotline.
“We received numerous calls to our hotline from all over Georgia inquiring about their registration status and if they needed to re-register,” said James Morales, the event spokesman.
Light of the World volunteers were working with citizens until midnight on December 7th — until the very last moment of registration eligibility. This effort made a huge difference in the voting activity of Spanish-speakers in the area.
“Faith-based organizations have the unique opportunity of being places of trust in the community and are a perfect place for first-time voters to register, especially Latino voters,” said Cecia Alvarado, Nevada State Director of Mi Familia Vota, a non-profit that works to increase voter participation in underrepresented communities.
The Light of the World volunteers hope that through this initiative many first-time voters were empowered to use their civic rights with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions on the issues that impact their lives.
