CME LEADERSHIP COMMITS TO CONTINUING VOTER EDUCATION, REGISTRATION, AND  GET OUT THE VOTE INITIATIVE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NAACP

(September 28, 2012 - New Orleans, LA)  We have gathered in New Orleans, LA sharing a spirit of unity and common purpose. In this setting, and back home we are compelled to say, “We cannot allow our votes to be stolen.” It is imperative that we protect the right to vote. In fact, this is our nation’s most important Civil Rights issue.

The Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church has partnered with the NAACP in the continuing struggle for justice, equality and fairness in the United States of America. We owe it to those who marched, sat-in, were beaten, and died for equal rights in the 1960s to assure that every voter can freely cast a ballot. We must pledge to work together with the NAACP, and other equal rights organizations to defend the right to vote, and simultaneously enable and empower our communities to vote in all of the 2012 elections. More than a dozen states have passed laws requiring voters to show state-approved ID at the polls in the November 6, 2012 elections. The reality is these laws unfairly harm minorities, poor people, and college students. Let us as a denomination commit ourselves to partner with the NAACP to combat these attacks, and make certain we experience record-breaking voter participation. We must continue to organize voter registration and “Get Out the Vote” endeavors that awaken and reach millions.

Voter registration, voter education, and voter protection is the historic commitment of the CME Church. It is critically important that we increase our commitment to engage our congregations in the electoral process.

CME Senior Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr., the College of Bishops, and the entire denomination stand together with the NAACP, and the many other “Voter Rights” advocates to ensure that we register masses of eligible voters leading up to respective state voter cutoffs. Did you know that over 8 million eligible African Americans are not registered to vote? Did you know that of the 12 million African American registered voters 45% did not vote in the 2008 elections?

We encourage all CME Churches to immediately partner with your local and/or state NAACP chapters, and conduct voter registration drives until the cutoff dates. Additionally, the NAACP will distribute alerts on changes in local voter laws; educate congregants on legislative matters that affect their communities; and ensure that church-goers turn out to the polls and are protected on Election Day.

The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, under the leadership of Senior Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr. and its College of Bishops, is a 141-year old historically African American Christian denomination with more than 1.2 million members across the United States, and has missions and sister churches in Haiti, Jamaica and fourteen African nations. There are four CME related colleges, Lane College (Jackson, TN), Miles College (Birmingham, AL), Paine College (Augusta, GA) and Texas College (Tyler, TX).  There is additionally a CME sponsored seminary, Phillips School of Theology, which is an affiliate member of the Interdenominational Theological Center (Atlanta, GA).  For additional information about the C.M.E. Church, visit   www.c-m-e.org .