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| Office for Social Justice Engages VotersThis November, the Office for Social Justice’s Voter Engagement Project will make sure people feel invited to participate in the political process by helping them register and prepare to vote.
The Voter Engagement Project is strictly nonpartisan, said Public Policy Manager Patrick Ness. “We want to give each client and guest of Catholic Charities the opportunity to vote, regardless of who they cast their ballot for,” Ness said.
Catholic Charities staff and volunteers will help clients register to vote and provide voting information. They’ll remind clients that each vote carries as much weight as the vote of anyone else and that the choices government makes directly affect their lives.
The project will include a final get-out-the-vote effort by providing transportation to polls. Shelter and housing program staff will vouch for their clients’ identities and addresses at the polls so they can vote without a permanent address.
Ness stressed the significance of voting, especially among people who may feel they’ve been ignored by the political process in the past.
“There’s a measure of dignity in casting a vote,” he said. “I’ve worked with people who, at the age of 50, cast their vote for the first time. There’s a sense of pride in that.”
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