Opinion: Voting as if God and the common good matter

When the citizens of thirty-nine states line up for the final day of voting on November 3, 2026, they will find questions as well as candidates on their ballots.

According to Ballotpedia, residents of some states (Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wyoming) will see only one state ballot measure. However, residents of California and Colorado will face a ballot with fourteen different propositions. Hopefully, there will be comfortable chairs in those two states’ polling locations.

In total, voters in those thirty-nine states will make decisions about one hundred and forty-five different ballot measures on issues ranging from the pledge of allegiance to property taxes, from farm equipment to fossil fuels.

The news media, of course, are constantly providing us with survey results, media spin, and speculation about how recent national and international events could have dire consequences for every American. However, as Catholics, we know that our Lord never said, “Be not afraid, except when it comes to midterm elections.”

Whatever is on your ballot in this election—or if you are sitting this one out in your state—we all have duties as citizens. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 2240), “Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one’s country (emphasis added).” How can we, as Catholics, make prudential, compassionate choices when asked to vote on complicated ballot measures?

Using our heads

In the Commonwealth of Virginia, where I live, there are three constitutional amendments on the ballot.

Should convicted felons automatically have their voting rights restored after incarceration through Virginia Ballot Question 3? This question involves a matter of prudential judgment. Some groups, including the Virginia Catholic Conference, encourage a yes vote on this question, but there are also reasons to vote no. While one could argue that those individuals who have completed their sentences should have their voting rights restored, one could also argue that the decision to restore voting rights should be affected by what kind of felony was committed. Catholics can form their own opinions about this question.

On the other hand, two of those amendments are so dangerous and fundamentally evil that our bishops have publicly opposed them and have been warning Catholics for months to vote against them.

While the Virginia ballot implies that Virginia Ballot Question 2 is all about ending a ban on “same-sex marriage,” even the Virginia Board of Elections’ web page points out that Virginians of the same sex are not being denied the opportunity to marry. The Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision settled that, at least for now.

So why is this amendment being proposed? By adding “sex” and “gender” language to the state constitution, proponents clearly hope to make radical gender ideology a protected class under the Virginia Constitution.

Until practically yesterday, the words “sex” and “gender” were considered synonyms. By adding these two separate words to the constitution, proponents seek to embed the lie that a person’s biological sex can be different from gender. This addition would open a Pandora’s box of problems for people who reject this falsehood. Will churches that refuse to marry same-sex couples lose their tax-exempt status? Will parents lose the ability to be involved in decisions by their minor children who seek sex-rejecting procedures? The amendment does not include language to respect conscience rights or religious liberty for those who disagree, and it would continue to allow commercial surrogacy. That’s why Catholic bishops of Virginia and others have strongly encouraged Virginians to vote no on this question.

It is easier to see what proponents are trying to accomplish through Virginia Ballot Question 1, which they call the “Virginia Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment.” The ballot language describing the measure is deceptively vague, which is why one pro-family organization has filed a lawsuit.

A voter reading the ballot or watching video ads might think that the amendment is simply designed to ensure that women receive prenatal care and access to contraception. Instead, once again, what matters is what is not present in the language of the amendment. Because this amendment would make abortion a protected fundamental right, that right would trump everything else. Since providing Virginia women with “reproductive freedom” would be considered so important, 1) abortion facilities would not be required to follow common-sense health and safety regulations, 2) unborn children could be aborted through all nine months of pregnancy for any reason whatsoever, 3) non-physicians could operate unlicensed abortion businesses, and 4) Virginia parents would not have the right to be involved in their daughters’ abortions since an existing parental consent statute would likely be overturned.

Yes, a thirteen-year-old pregnant girl—who couldn’t get a tattoo without her parents’ permission and physical presence during the procedure—could secretly obtain an abortion, and it could be performed by someone with no medical training who does not know how to follow basic health standards. What could go wrong?

The Virginia bishops (and others) have strongly encouraged Catholics to vote no on Ballot Question 1 as well. They have also been distributing a prayer card and an informational card, which summarizes some of the worst ramifications of these two amendments.

While advocacy groups on both sides of the aisle frequently express their opinions about candidates and ballot measures, Catholic bishops do not. But these two ballot questions, which do not involve candidates or partisan politics, do pose grave dangers to women, children, and their parents.

Has your bishop made a statement about any of the issues on your ballot? Have you checked? Just because you haven’t heard anything from your regular news sources does not mean that your bishop has not expressed an opinion or provided other information on his diocesan website.

Using our hearts

In addition to becoming educated voters about the issues in our state—and encouraging family, friends, neighbors, carpool partners, social media pals, and friends in our Bible studies to do the same—we should pray. Specifically, we should pray that God will move the hearts of voters when they are making their voting decisions.

If you have ever prayed outside an abortion facility, you know that Catholics instinctively pray the Rosary for the women who are inside. While we cannot know what is going on inside the building, we can imagine many painful scenarios and pray for God to intervene in each woman’s situation. Meditating on the Joyful Mysteries is particularly appropriate.

Could there be a woman inside the abortion facility who is seeking a pregnancy test? Then we pray that she, like Mary, will say “Yes” when she is told the good news that she is pregnant. Is she considering abortion? Then may she have a friend, like Elizabeth, who congratulates her on being a mother and who offers her support. Is she afraid of giving birth or feeling alone? Then may she persevere and know the joy of holding her newborn in her arms. Is her heart broken because her unborn child has been given an adverse prenatal diagnosis? Then may she be given the grace to thank God for however many months she is able to carry this child and even hope for a miracle. Has she experienced the loss of abortion? Then may she turn to God to find healing and hope.

Rather than letting the latest news make us anxious, what if we prayed the Rosary instead, begging that God’s grace would provide voters in all thirty-nine states with the prudence and compassion they need to reject simplistic slogans and see through hidden agendas?

For Virginia voters this fall, perhaps the most fitting mystery of the Rosary is the 1st Luminous Mystery. Just as the Father spoke to the Son at His Baptism in the Jordan River, so may He speak to children who are confused about their gender, adults who are struggling with same-sex attraction, abortion-minded mothers, and wounded women who have experienced abortion. And may He speak to voters. May every one of God’s suffering children hear Him speak to their hearts, saying, “You are my beloved son” and “You are my beloved daughter.”

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