Quality Amish voter help project guides from Amish PAC’s plain voter project? Our strategy for registering and turning out Amish voters: Amish PAC deploys old-fashioned newspaper ads and billboards throughout rural Pennsylvania and Ohio Amish country as part of a voter registration campaign specifically tailored to potential Amish and Mennonite voters. We also make a special hotline available to potential Amish voters who are interested in receiving more information about voting and requesting a registration form. It’s common for an Amishman to call and request registration forms for his wife and entire family. Find many more information on AmishPAC.
In Pennsylvania, during the 2016 elections, out of the 15,055 Amish people eligible to vote in the state, only 2,052 registered. And of those, only 1,016 participated in the voting process. The highest turnout of Amish voters by percentage was in 2004, when about 13% of registered Amish voters participated in the elections and voted for George W. Bush, as they are typically Republican by registration and conviction. The seeming apathy of the Amish people stems from personal preference, though the church leaders discourage their followers from getting too involved in politics.
A middle-aged Amish couple said they were aware of the PAC’s efforts but voted based on the issues. Both were proud they had voted since 2000 and had no plans to stop. The husband said he was a supporter of Second Amendment rights and did not believe Clinton would serve gun owners as president. He said Trump had failures as a businessman, shaky morals and multiple marriages but would be a good leader. The man’s wife echoed the same sentiment, adding that she didn’t think a woman was fit to be president. Both said a woman wouldn’t be good under pressure, with the husband noting that though Germany and Britain have had women leaders, those countries have much smaller populations and are therefore easier to oversee than the U.S.
The newspaper advertisements featured a photo of Trump and bullet points that read, “Trump has never been a politician or held elected office” and “never had a glass of alcohol.” According to its financial disclosure forms filed with the Federal Elections Commission in Oct., Amish PAC paid $9,392.14 to Lamar Outdoor Advertising for four billboards in July and August that went up in Ohio and Pennsylvania encouraging the Amish to vote for Donald Trump on Election Day.
An Amish man in his 20s said it was his first time voting, with his main concern being religious freedom. He noted that his father was a Republican and that it influenced his decision to vote for Trump. Another Amish man who is not currently a church member told PennLive he disagreed with both candidates but found Trump to be the “lesser of two evils.” The man, who also was in his early 20s, said he owns a business installing solar panels and is fearful of the environmental policy Clinton would have employed and its effect on smaller companies like his.
He said the official report on how many Amish voters registered and then followed through with voting for Trump won’t be available until the spring, but he did say that at the close of voter registration Oct. 11, the GOP had registered 10,403 Amish voters compared to the Democrats, who registered 9,961 — a difference of just 442 people, said Walters. He said Pennsylvania is the state that put Trump over the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the election. Discover even more info at https://www.amishpac.com/.
Ensuring that unregistered conservatives, such as the Amish people, go to the polls to vote is essential to those who challenge incumbents. This may be why Democrats and Republicans have spent much of the past four years convincing the Amish people that casting a vote is essential. One of the significant efforts toward improving voting among Amish people is the creation of the AmishPAC. The committee utilizes media channels such as newspaper ads and billboards throughout communities with a significant Amish presence. They take this approach since Amish people are not on social media platforms, nor do they watch television.