Churches must help protect election integrity and restore faith in democracy

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(RNS) —  Too many Americans today fear that their votes do not count because they believe that elections can be stolen. That means churches need to help protect the electoral process and restore our faith in democracy.

Only 34% of U.S. adults said they trusted government certifications of election results “a great deal” or “quite a bit,” according to a survey conducted this summer by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts . That number is down slightly from 40% in 2024.

Many Republicans fear that people who are not citizens will vote, although studies haven’t found significant numbers of noncitizens voting. Some Democrats fear that Trump will send federal agents or the military to seize ballots, although this would be against the law. Both sides fear that those counting the ballots will cheat.

Nothing is more destructive of democracy than losing faith in the electoral process. When faith in elections is destroyed, people are more likely to turn to violence — just look at Jan. 6, 2021.

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