High quality Amish voter project organization by AmishPAC.com? Ohio and Pennsylvania host the largest population of Amish in the United States. Both states have nearly 100,000 Amish residents each, and that number is skyrocketing. The average Amish family has 6-8 children. When Amish vote, they vote for individual rights, religious rights and less government regulation on their farms and businesses. The objective of Amish PAC’s Plain Voter Project is to drive up Amish voter registration and turnout. Find more details on AmishPAC.
Many Amish people consider voting a worldly activity. Their spiritual convictions, as well as the voter registration requirements typically deter them from going to the polls, leaving a small minority to participate in the electoral process. The Amish people are conservative. The need to preserve tradition while prioritizing individual freedom and human dignity highlight their culture’s conservative values. Though the Amish people are divided into various communities and observe different practices, they are grounded in traditional Christian precepts that represent conservative values.
This man pointed to a shift in the community from agriculture as a means for a livelihood as a reason for more politically aware people in the community. With more people in skilled trades and outside the somewhat insular community, the reality of politics has become more clear. “I think it’s our duty to vote, and the newer generation is feeling that more,” he said, adding that his father would have voted for the first time were it not for his sisters’ wedding and missing the absentee deadline. His mother is more “old-fashioned” and does not vote.
The Amish PAC focused on advertising in areas of Ohio and Pennsylvania with large Amish and Mennonite populations. “I think we really got the word out and we really stirred up some buzz in Amish communities in Holmes County, Ohio, as well. We really had a great presence,” said Walters in a phone interview Friday. According to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, the Amish PAC spent $1,351 on advertising in the Holmes County Shopper and an additional $1,298 for The Budget. Both newspapers are geared toward the Amish and Mennonite communities in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Walters noted that it was too early to tell how many Amish voters in the county, went to the polls, saying he will have to review logs and canvassing sheets to measure the impact of the PAC’s efforts. Officials at several Lancaster County polling locations said that by lunchtime, they saw more voters from the Amish community turn out than ever. Even more cast votes in the afternoon and evening — between morning and evening wedding celebrations across Amish Country. Around 20 weddings were performed in the community Tuesday.
The co-founder of the country’s first ever Republican Amish super Political Action Committee said there was a strong turn-out of Amish and Mennonite voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania for the presidential election and the organization is already looking ahead to the Ohio Senate race in 2018. Ben Walters, Amish PAC co-founder, said they knew Donald Trump, the president-elect, was going to win Ohio so the organization shifted its focus to Pennsylvania, where more than 500 volunteers helped register Amish and Mennonite voters and drive them to the polls on Election Day. Read more details at Amish vote registering recommendations.
The Amish are more likely to vote for individual and religious rights rather than government policies if they choose to vote at all. To appeal to this concern, people started the AmishPAC. This committee exists to encourage more electoral participation from the Amish people by improving Amish voter registration and turnout during elections. The creation of this political action committee solely to reach out to the Amish people shows the importance of their votes to politicians.