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(RNS) — Thousands of ordained clergy and lay people are preparing to mobilize at polling stations during tomorrow’s General Election (Nov. 3), with the goal of ensuring a peaceful voting process.
A tradition that originated in the Black Church, poll chaplains and peacekeepers are faith leaders and lay people who commit to offering a peaceful presence at polling locations through prayers and conflict de-escalation. They also guide voters with practical information on voting status and ballot issues and answer questions about voting rights.
This year, amid new voters’ concerns, chaplains are receiving updated training and preparing to mobilize until results are certified in January.
Barbara Williams-Skinner, a voter rights advocate who cofounded the Faiths United to Save Democracy initiative, described an unprecedentedly tense climate, citing voters fearing obstruction and the presence of federal immigration agents at polling stations.
“What feels different this year is the overwhelming sense that the government is working against the people,” she said. “All of the tricks of the trade have been tried.”
According to a University of California San Diego survey conducted in September, fewer than half of Americans (49%) expect the midterms to be “free and fair” elections. Concerns surged following this spring’s Supreme Court decision that gutted a portion of the Voting Rights Act and uncertainty about the presence of FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at polling locations.
The Department of Justice said on Oct. 29 that it would not deploy FBI and ICE agents as election monitors at polling locations, news outlets reported. However, Markwayne Mullin, Department of Homeland Security secretary, previously said ICE agents could intervene at polling stations under certain circumstances.
Some poll chaplain training programs have seen an increase in interested volunteers.
FUSD, Williams-Skinner’s organization, which started deploying poll chaplains in 2022, has trained 1,200 people across 12 states this year — 300 more than during the 2024 election cycle.
Through 90-minute virtual sessions, held in April, July, September and October, volunteers completed “Know Your Rights” workshops with a civil rights lawyer and sessions on conflict de-escalation and best practices at polling locations.
The training also includes a moral-framing chapter connecting religious teachings on human dignity to the importance of each individual’s ability to cast a ballot.
“This is theological, not just political,” said theologian Jim Wallis, a cofounder of FUSD. “We start with that moral foundation in every training.”
Robert Christian, strategy director at the Franciscan Action Network, which had trained 375 Franciscan friars, nuns and lay people to be poll chaplains as of October 19, said they exemplify the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi, who founded the Catholic order and emphasized elevating human dignity. He said FAN recruited more volunteers this election cycle than in the past and cited fear of ICE agents at polling stations as a factor in their participation.
“It’s a fairly tense atmosphere in the lead-up to the election,” he said.
At Faith in Action, a national progressive organization that has mobilized 354 poll chaplains and peacekeepers, only experienced poll chaplains have been trained in conflict de-escalation, said Deth Im, its director of faith leadership. For the most part, poll chaplains are expected to fulfill a “ministry of presence.”
“We want faith leaders to bear witness to what’s going on,” he said. “If we believe that faith and then faith leaders still have a role … then what we want them to do is to be out in the world and then to bear witness to what’s going on.”
In its 75-minute training sessions, Faith in Action advises sending at least two poll chaplains or peacekeepers to polling locations and directs them to wear collars or other items signaling they are clergy. The part of the training focused on conflict de-escalation includes advice on how to approach one of the most common scenarios, where an individual will block the entrance of a polling station and become hostile, Im said. Chaplains are advised to step in peacefully, record the interaction and contact the organization’s hotline, which will be active throughout Election Day.
“The idea is to buy a little bit of time while you’re lowering temperatures, so that the right folks can be there,” he said.
Faith in Action’s polling chaplain program, which initially started with just Christian clergy, has seen an increase in the number of Jewish and Muslim faith participants in recent years. However, soaring anti-Muslim rhetoric this election cycle has prompted concerns from some Muslim poll chaplains on whether their presence would spark tensions, he said.
“Being multifaith is an important part of how we want to engage our democracy moving forward, and we’re not going to do that in such a way that puts people in harm,” Im said.
On Election Day, FUSD will run a “command center” from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., which will check in with state leaders throughout the day and report any unusual situations, Williams-Skinner said. Her group has also partnered with 40 other organizations to monitor races in states where they haven’t deployed volunteers.
FUSD leaders said the group is mobilizing poll chaplains through Jan. 3, 2027, when congressional elections are certified. They are preparing for potential “manipulation of counting” and “improper counting,” Wallis said.
“This year, it will not be an Election Day — it’s an election season,” Wallis said, referencing concerns about potential riots like that of Jan. 6, 2021. “This time it’s January 3, which is for us Epiphany Sunday in the churches. And we’re going to be ready for that.”