The Duty of Citizens

It is the duty of citizens to work with civil authority for building up society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom. —CCC 2255

The midterm elections will take place four weeks from today. While traditionally voter turnout has been low for midterm elections, this year seems likely to be different.

If you’re new in town and you’d like to register to vote, you can do so online until October 21; you can register in person right up until November 6 via grace period registration. Your voting authority will be the City of Bloomington if you live within the city limits, or the McLean County Clerk’s office if you live in Normal or anywhere else in McLean County. Those links will also provide you with information about voting early. If you’ve moved and you can’t remember whether you updated your voter registration, this interface will tell you whether you’re currently registered and where to find your polling place.

In preparing to cast your ballot, you may find it helpful to read the document produced by the US bishops, called Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship; it discusses the challenges of addressing the richness of the Church’s social teaching in our existing political context. The USCCB site includes a variety of other resources on civic responsibility for Catholics as well.

—Image from Wikimedia Commons