OHIO — Clergy of all faiths are gearing up for election day, hoping voters will cast their ballots with no problems at polling sites.
What You Need To Know
- Non-violent principles from the 60s are being used by clergy to keep things calm at the polls
- There is a concern issues may arise at polls in urban areas where there may be a lack of trust for police
- Training includes de-escalation techniques, active shooter training and keeping an eye out for possible intimidation
- For more information on getting involved, click here
Activist and founder of Crazy Faith Ministries, Reverend Susan Smith, explained that clergy, also known as peacekeepers, were present at polling sites back in 2016 and in 2020. Now, they’re continuing their efforts.
“We use a lot of the principles of non-violence, direct action we learned from the 60s,” Smith said much of what they do involves de-escalation training with a goal of getting people to calm down without having to call the police.
”We included an active shooter training because we’re just not quite sure what kind of craziness might happen on election day, or even in early voting.” said Smith.
Reflecting on what happened at the polls back in 2020 in Ohio, Smith believes we can expect to see some of the same with specific groups of people being targeted at the polls.
“We’re really concerned about people being harassed and being frightened away from the polls by people asking them questions that they’re not supposed to ask them and, and making them feel like if they vote that they’re gonna get in trouble,” said Smith.
Smith indicated they are in need of additional clergy to serve at the polls this year. They have not gotten the response needed because some are afraid of what could happen at the polls while there.
