It is a key day in American politics today with mid-term elections in many states being held today. Â Will the Amish be taking their buggies to the local polling station and lining up to vote?
This is a topic we tackle every couple of years on Amish365.com, but it's always good to do a refresher. Â Â Here's how a middle-aged Amish woman answered the question when I once asked her if she votes in Presidential elections:
"Ha! We rely on you to put good people in office."
And that's it largely in a nutshell. Â The Old Order Amish prefer to stay out of national politics. Â There are just too many minefields that they could stumble into by participating. Â Most Amish are strict pro-life in their views so if they did vote, they'd probably vote Republican. Â On the other hand, the Amish are also generally strict pacifists. Â And each of the last 5 Republican Presidents have been involved in some form of military intervention somewhere and that doesn't square well with a pacifist position. Â Plus, there's the issue of defense budgets, national insurance programs, and social safety nets. Â None of these square well with Amish beliefs.
There have been some attempts by the GOP to register Amish voters and with good reason. Ohio has a huge Amish population and often features very close results in Presidential races. Â 20,000 Amish votes going largely to the Republican party is an irresistible prize, but attempts at mobilizing Amish voters for Presidential races have largely failed. Â By the way, I am aware of some Amish in northern Indiana who were very pro-Obama in 2008. Â Northern Indiana was then mired in a terrible recession and many believed Obama's policies could bring relief to the battered RV industry.
One "Amish person" who will be voting Democrat today: Lebanon Levi of Amish Mafia fame.
The Amish WILL more commonly vote in LOCAL elections. Â School board races, mental health levies and zoning issues are all items that have turned out Amish voters in large numbers at various times. Â So if they see that participating in something on a very local level can have a direct impact on their lives, they'll participate.
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