For the pulpit and the pews
01The moral case, made from the pulpit
Congregations reach people no campaign can. These resources help faith leaders speak to voting rights as a matter of conscience — and stay firmly within the nonpartisan lines that protect your tax status.
What you can do
Four things, in order of effort
Preach it once
Dedicate one service before November to children, conscience and the ballot. The Voter Action Guide supplies the framing, the facts and a closing charge.
Open the doors
Host a registration table in the fellowship hall after services. Two volunteers and a folding table is the entire operation.
Observe Children's Sabbaths®
Request the 2026 manual and build a weekend observance that puts children at the center of worship and of your congregation's advocacy.
Read aloud with the children
A Read Aloud for Democracy event gives the youngest members of your congregation their first experience of civic life. The guide runs the whole event.
Download
Made for faith leaders & congregations
Also useful: the Read Aloud for Democracy guide, which works for any audience, and the full library.
Take action
Register, check and cast your ballot
Every task between deciding to vote and having your ballot counted, in one place. Check your registration in under a minute, fix it if something's wrong, and set a reminder so a deadline never decides this for you.
- Works in every state
- Nonpartisan — no candidates, no parties
- Nothing on this site is required first
Register to vote
Start or update your registration in your state. Most people finish in about two minutes.
Open 02Verify your registration
Confirm you're still on the rolls and that your address is current. Worth doing even if you voted last time — records get purged.
Open 03Request an absentee ballot
Vote from home if getting to a polling place on a workday with children in tow isn't realistic.
Open 04Get election reminders
Deadline and Election Day reminders for your state, so the date arrives with warning instead of as news.
Open 05Check your ballot
See the races and measures you'll actually be voting on, including the school board and local seats that shape children's daily lives.
OpenHosted by Children's Defense Fund Action and powered by Vote.org. Opens in a new tab. Nonpartisan — no candidate or party is endorsed.
Request the manual
Get the 2026 Children's Sabbaths® manual
Clergy and faith leaders can request the planning manual for the 2026 National Observance of Children's Sabbaths® — worship resources, sermon starters, litanies and an organizing timeline for building a weekend observance around children and the ballot.
01 · Faith Leaders & Congregations2026 National Observance of Children's Sabbaths®
- Worship and preaching resources across traditions
- A planning timeline you can hand to a committee
- Nonpartisan advocacy actions for your congregation
Sign-up is hosted on Microsoft Forms and opens in a new tab. The manual is sent to the email address you provide.