The November 2023 general election is underway, and Houston congregations are mobilizing their members to use their voice in the voting booth.
As of close of business on October 29, 100,438 registered voters in Harris County had cast their ballots either in person or by mail since early voting started on October 23. That’s more votes cast than in Dallas, Tarrant, and Bexar Counties combined (84,501). Early voting numbers in Harris County are strong— far outstripping the turnout rate during the same early voting window in 2015, when Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner first ran for office.
Houston’s faith communities are contributing to this early voting energy and getting their people to the polls. On Sunday, October 29, I had the privilege of joining a Souls to the Polls caravan organized by Peoples Legal Clinic—Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church’s Legal and Social Justice Ministry—St. Stephens Episcopal Church, St. John Missionary Baptist Church, and Trinity East United Methodist Church.
I arrived at Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church—a 150-year-old congregation situated across from Brays Bayou in Houston’s historic Third Ward—around noon. In the warm, still-humid, pre-cold front atmosphere, friends mingled as services concluded. Event organizers fielded phone calls and secured keys to vans while caravaners from different churches shook hands and learned about each other. The whole scene felt like a pleasant Sunday gathering imbued with a spirit of hope and shared intent. I was happy and humbled to be there.
Once loaded into the vans, we rolled up Ennis Street to Texas Southern University, which hosts one of Harris County’s 68 early voting locations. We were greeted by cheerful election clerks as we strolled into the air-conditioned building together. After a quick turn in the booth (remember to bring your cheat sheet— I printed my choices from my BallotReady dashboard!), I stepped back outside to wait for my new friends.
I chatted with someone’s little nephew who tagged along, troubleshooting the audio settings on his iPhone as he watched Cobra Kai; I caught up with one of our Houston Faith Votes partners from the People’s Legal Clinic, sharing tales of recent travels; I gleaned advice from an election worker stationed outside who recalled the feelings and challenges she experienced as an expecting mother (our family is growing in the new year!).
As I huddled with my fellow caravaners for a photo before we returned to the church, I gave thanks for people of faith who transform secular processes and civic duties into opportunities for deep connection and belonging. As we cast our votes for elected officials and ballot measures that will greatly affect important systems across our region and state, we also shared stories about our families, our work, our communities. I look forward to more sacred, collective action in 2024.
Ready to mobilize your faith community to vote? Check out our Texas Faith Votes campaign!
Katie Wang is Texas Impact’s Community Mobilization Manager and facilitates the Houston Faith Votes campaign. | katie@texasimpact.org