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The Christian right’s ability to mobilize its own voters has long made it one of the most potent forces in American politics.
But, as Sarah Posner reports for us, evangelical leaders have embraced a new strategy this year, one with direct roots in the outcome of the 2020 election: Religious activists have taken up the cause of “election integrity,” pushing bills to crack down on voter fraud, even though no evidence of widespread fraud in U.S. elections exists. In the process, they’ve helped restrict ballot access for millions of Americans – the most regressive wave of voting measures since the Jim Crow era – and drawn a direct connection between their new cause and their core religious beliefs.
The goal is to protect the gains made by the Christian right during Donald Trump’s presidency, especially in the federal courts – and to restore the White House and Congress to Republican control. The biggest prize, of course, is the U.S. Supreme Court, where – not coincidentally – all three of Trump’s appointees declined to block Texas’ new abortion bill from taking effect, signaling their willingness to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Across the country, Christian-right groups that saw their influence bloom during Trump’s presidency have taken up the cause not just in statehouses and fundraising appeals, but also in churches and prayer calls with followers. The Christian voter mobilization group My Faith Votes, for example, has launched an initiative called Election Integrity Now, complete with a prayer guide with seven ways to ask God “to protect America’s elections and deliver trustworthy results.”
Read the story: How the Christian Right Embraced Voter Suppression
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