Know the candidates before voting Nov. 8

Why should Minnesota Catholics vote Nov. 8? “Because our elected officials make decisions that impact our lives and impact the common good,” said Jason Adkins, executive director and general counsel for the Minnesota Catholic Conference.  

“We might not always like our choices, but it’s important that we get out and inform ourselves about the candidates and try to pick the best one that we think will serve human dignity and the common good,” he said. 

Adkins recently spoke with “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley about the election. The episode debuts 9 p.m. Nov. 4 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.   

Knowing the candidates and their positions is vital to picking good representatives, Adkins said. “Who are they? What are their principles? What do they stand for? What do they hope to do in office?” 

Asked about ballot issues important to the bishops and the Catholic faith, Adkins said they vary at local, state and federal levels. “We need to be attentive to all those issues because, especially, we’re seeing the importance of school board elections and what’s going on in schools,” he said. “Our local elected officials have a lot of control over quality of life issues — taxation, property taxes, what goes on in our library system, zoning and planning issues.”  

But especially at the state and federal level, “how we treat human life from conception to natural death” is always a key priority issue, he said. Other important issues speak to human flourishing, Adkins said, including access to education, health care, good employment opportunities. This year “and for the foreseeable future,” Adkins said MCC will focus a lot at the Capitol on family economic security “because the family is the very heart of society.” 

In addition to becoming informed on candidates’ positions on issues, he encouraged the faithful to read the Minnesota bishops’ election year statement, which is posted on the MCC website. It asks Catholics to consider a number of issues, “but most importantly, the need to limit abortion, and the quest for prenatal justice,” Adkins said. “Those are important voting considerations this year.” 

The MCC website also includes guidelines for parish political activities, candidate interviews and voting resources, information on Catholic social teaching, and more.  

Minnesotans who plan to vote but are not yet registered can simply show up at their designated polling location and show a driver’s license, or a photo ID along with proof of residence, such as a utility bill, for example, Adkins said. Visit the Minnesota secretary of state website for details, accessible through the Minnesota Catholic Conference website, mncatholic.org. 

Find a variety of election resources — from candidate interviews to information on Catholic social teaching to an election statement from the Catholic Bishops of Minnesota, and more — at the MCC website. 

To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” show at 9 p.m. Nov. 4, which repeats 1 p.m. Nov. 5 and 2 p.m. Nov. 6 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. 

Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Judy Cozzens, former president of the U.S. Council of Serra International, who describes how the organization promotes and supports vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life; and Christina Krutza, Called & Gifted presenter for the Catherine of Siena Institute, who discusses discerning one’s God-given charisms. 

Listen to interviews after they have aired at?PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.