Continental Congress

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How important is one vote in an election? Pastor George Pearsons, Bishop Keith Butler, and David Barton answer this question for us and help us gain a better perspective on how important our vote is. There are many times where one vote made the difference. Pastor Pearsons goes back in history where one vote made a huge difference. “In 1845 Texas was admitted to the States by one vote, 1868 Andrew Johnson was spared impeachment by one vote, in 1923, Adolf Hitler won the leadership of the Nazi party by one vote. In 1960, JFK won by one vote per precinct and Nixon lost by one vote per precinct. And so, one vote is extremely important.”

David Barton talks about Thomas Jefferson and how many people in recent times have wanted any memory of him removed because he was a slave owner. But he was not a slave owner by choice, and he tried to free his slaves but the state of Virginia at that time would not allow him to free them because of certain laws that were in place. He tried to have the law removed and to abolish slavery as soon as he started college at the University of Virginia, but he could not get it done. When elected to the Continental Congress he introduced a law to abolish slavery, and he lost by one vote! America missed ending slavery by only one vote. Even still he fought until the end of his life to abolish slavery.

When it comes to our current elections, many are focusing on the Presidential election or the bigger election when we should be focusing more on our local elections which is much more important. Bishop Butler shares how important the local vote is. “Local officials can determine where you live, how you live, what you can do, whether or not you can own a firearm…the entire local level is extremely, extraordinarily important. And in many ways have as much and in some cases have more impact on your life than the federal officials do.” David shares that, “31% of people (in America) have decided not to vote (in presidential elections).” When we decide not to vote, we decide to not have any influence at all in our city, and our country. He continues, “Only 4% of voters vote in local elections.”

We can focus on influencing people in our community who have the right values to run for office, and it is a high possibility that they will win because of the low percentage of people that actually vote in the local elections. Bishop Butler states that, “The City Council has the ability to select whether the Second Amendment will be applied or not…every election matters…the will of what the public really thinks is not being shown at the ballot box, then they say this is terrible why is this happening, but you didn’t go out and vote?” Bishop Butler is asked the question; As a pastor what do you do in your church to encourage people to vote? “Every pastor, anything you want them to do, you preach on it. You will have whatever you preach on… faith comes by hearing…the gospel system is speaking, hearing, and acting. If a pastor takes the time to walk through the Word of God about the matter, the people will vote.”

Voting is our responsibility as citizens of America and we can make sure the right person gets in office. As believers “it is a biblical duty to vote,” says David, “God has ordained the institution of civil government.” The scriptures tell us how to elect people for government, “Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.” This scripture points to each level of government that we vote for. When we choose not to vote the wrong people are put into leadership, but we can make the right choice and get out and vote! We want to hear from you. Also shared in this segment: elections, values, Second Amendment, preaching, Biblical Worldview, seeds, harvest, righteousness, faith, and abiding. Greg and Steve shared in this segment.

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Your One Vote Matters! Your Vote Can Make the Difference- 4% of People Vote in Local Elections