- What is the purpose of iVoteValues.com?
- Why is the iVoteValues.com initiative needed?
- What are the vision and goals for iVoteValues.com?
- Who can benefit from the iVoteValues.com initiative?
- Who’s behind iVoteValues.com?
- Can I support iVoteValues.com financially?
- Who is Richard Land?
- Who do I contact for an interview (press)?
What is the purpose of iVoteValues.com?
A unique resource for American voters that emphasizes the importance on connecting one’s personal values, beliefs, and convictions with their decisions on which candidates to support. The iVoteValues.com initiative stresses that citizens need to be involved in civic affairs, by registering to vote, educating themselves on their electoral choices, and then actually voting. The initiative also underscores the need of individuals to share this message of informed voter participation with others.
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Why is the iVoteValues.com initiative needed?
Each Election Day, millions of Americans choose not to vote. And many of those who do fulfill this important civic responsibility cast their vote without thoroughly considering the candidates’ stands vis-à-vis their own personal faith. The iVoteValues.com initiative encourages American citizens to register to vote, educate themselves on the choices, and then on Election Day, vote their values.
In addition, the iVoteValues.com initiative is an aid to people of faith, helping them understand what their church and church leadership can do and cannot do when it comes to political activity. The iVoteValues.com site not only encourages citizens to be informed voters, it empowers the local faith community to become legally involved in civic matters.
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What are the vision and goals for iVoteValues.com?
Voter apathy doesn’t stem from having too much to do on Election Day, but from far too many Americans failing to see the connection between their personal beliefs and values and the obligation to look to those convictions in the voting booth.
Budding democracies, such as the nation of Iraq, see citizens anxious to participate in the electoral process, even at great risk. They appreciate the freedom they have to “speak their mind” in the voting process.
The iVoteValues.com initiative is dedicated to helping Americans appreciate the cherished right they have and to understand that their participation in the process makes their community and nation stronger.
The initiative, in part, seeks to:
- Grow the percentage of American citizens registered to vote and who actually vote their values on Election Day;
- Foster an informed electorate who are not afraid to let their faith-informed values influence their electoral decisions;
- Help voters understand that the Bible has something to say about contemporary moral and ethical issues that are at play in a political campaign, and;
- Clarify what is permissible political activity within a church setting and what activities must be avoided.
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Who can benefit from the iVoteValues.com initiative?
Every American citizen who is qualified to vote and those young Americans who are expectantly looking toward the day they can register to vote are encouraged to become an active participant in the iVoteValues.com initiative.
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Who’s behind iVoteValues.com?
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention launched iVoteValues.com initiative in 2004 and is responsible for overseeing the effort.
Yet its message is for all Americans—of all faiths or no faith at all. It is not a sectarian endeavor and it is clearly non-partisan. The iVoteValues.com message is simple: Register to vote. Educate yourself on the candidates’ positions. And vote your values on Election Day.
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Can I support iVoteValues.com financially?
We’re glad you asked. The answer is a resounding yes. In developing the iVoteValues.com initiative, we went to great measures to develop an project that reached across political and theological lines and simply spoke to the essence of what it means to be an American. We didn’t cut corners and we covered the costs out of our operating budget. If you are interested in contributing to this critical effort to help America, click here.
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Who is Richard Land?
Richard Land is president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the organization that developed the iVoteValues.com initiative. You may have seen Richard Land on any number of network news programs. In fact in 2005, he was featured in Time Magazine as one of “The Twenty-five Most Influential Evangelicals in America.”
Land, who is a graduate of Princeton University (B.A., magna cum laude), New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (Th.M.), and Oxford (D.Phil.), is the author of The Divided States of America? What Liberals and Conservatives are Missing in the God-and-Country Shouting Match! (Thomas Nelson, 2007).
He is the host of the nationally syndicated radio program, Richard Land Live! and can also be heard at iLiveValues.com.
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Who do I contact for an interview (press)?
To schedule an interview with Dr. Richard Land about the iVoteValues.com initiative, contact Jill Martin at (615) 782-8401, or by e-mail at . PRESS INQUIRES ONLY PLEASE.
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