EDITOR’S NOTE: Every vote matters. The last day to register to register to vote in the Nov. 5th general election is Oct. 9. Timothy Faber serves as legislative consultant for the Missouri Baptist Convention. This article was updated on Aug. 15.
In recent months, 380,000 signatures have been submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office in an effort to add a right to abortion in Missouri’s constitution. The Missouri Secretary of State’s office announced Tuesday, Aug. 13, that pro-abortion advocates had gathered enough signatures to present their proposed state constitutional amendment to voters (Read more here.)
Missouri voters will decide on the November ballot whether or not to amend the state’s Constitution. If it passes, this constitutional amendment will allow children to be murdered while still in their mother’s wombs. There would be no restrictions at all. Abortion would be allowed up until the moment of birth (To read the actual wording of the proposed amendment, please click here.) If this amendment passes, there will likely be more than 8,000 children killed every year in Missouri. That’s how many of them were losing their lives each year prior to the state abortion ban taking effect in 2022.
For this pro-abortion constitutional amendment to pass, all that is needed is a simple majority of votes cast – that is, one vote more than 50 percent. Yes, one vote can make a huge difference for thousands of lives.
Therefore, it is imperative that every person who affirms the sanctity of all human life go to the ballot box and vote against this amendment.
Sadly, Missouri has about 4.75 million residents over the age of 18, but about 500,000 of them are not registered to vote! And of those registered to vote (4.28 million) less than half actually voted in the last election! In other words, there are more people registered to vote who did not exercise their right to vote than there are those who are not registered – almost 4 times as many registered voters chose not to vote compared to those who chose to not register to vote.
It won’t do any good for us to believe in life if we don’t believe in voting to protect life. It doesn’t do any good to register to vote if we don’t follow through in exercising that right on Nov. 5.
For those who are not yet registered to vote, the last day to get registered for the November election is Oct. 9. If you have moved or changed your name – or if for any other reason you may have invalidated your voter registration – it is imperative that you get that up-to-date by Oct. 9, as well. To register or update your voter registration contact your county clerk’s office. Also, when you vote, be sure you have a valid, government issued, photo ID. You will be required to present that when you go to vote. Even if you are registered to vote, you will be required to verify you are who you claim to be when you go to the polls. Say it with me, “I am committed to vote for Life in November!”
But, as important as voting is, we do not trust the vote. Our trust is in Christ alone. Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in horses and some in chariots, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God.” So, believe in voting, but trust in God. And remember that the Lord often works through us to accomplish His will. Will you allow Him to work through you to save the lives of Missouri’s children?