The Georgia Catholic Conference is pleased to share this resource for the Catholics of Georgia to use as a guide for discernment and reflection as we all prepare to vote later this fall. This guide is not only a “how-to,” it is also a “why-to.” We will cover what is at stake in our elections this fall, key information to know and the reasons for our obligation to mindfully participate in the political process.
What’s At Stake?
“This November, we Georgians will be voting in deeply important races in our state.
These elections will shape Georgia’s future for years to come.”
– Catholic Bishops of Georgia
There are an overwhelming number of races occurring in 2026. This is why it is so important to do our research on the candidates and the offices they are running for before we show up to vote.
U.S. Senate
U.S. House of Representatives (all 14 seats)
Governor
Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Secretary of State
Insurance Commissioner
Labor Commissioner
Agriculture Commissioner
State Superintendent
Public Service Commission
Senate (all 56 seats)
House of Representatives (all 180 seats)
District Attorney (9 circuits)
Be sure to be aware of other local elections that may be on your ballot. These could include county offices like the county commission, board of education, sheriff, as well as municipal races for mayor, city council and city boards of education.
Key Dates & Information
Voter Registration Deadline: October 5, 2026
Early Voting: October 13-30, 2026
Election Day is November 3, 2026
Sample ballots, polling locations and other information can be found at the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page. If you are already registered to vote, simply use your name, birthdate and county to login.
Not registered to vote in Georgia? Click here to register. You will need a Georgia driver’s license or identification card.
Resources for Research
- Campaign websites – using the My Voter page, identify who is on your ballot and carefully examine their campaign websites
- Trusted news outlets – Read articles about and interviews with candidates
- Congressional voting records – Contains the voting record of all votes in the U.S. Senate and House
- Georgia State Senate voting records – Contains the voting record of all votes in the Georgia Senate
- Georgia State House voting records – Contains the voting record of all votes in the Georgia House
A Prophetic Call
“Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God
for the liberation and promotion of the poor, and for enabling them to be fully a part of society.”
– Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium
All Catholics are baptized priest, prophet and king. This is not an abstract theological concept; it has concrete implications for our choices and behavior. Our threefold baptismal mission enjoins us to share in the work of Jesus in the world. It is that prophetic mission, in particular, that calls us to work for justice – to be the catalysts for real, tangible change ordered toward the good.
The prophets were neither fortune tellers nor soothsayers. They were not looking off into the future or reading tea leaves; they had strong ethical and moral commitments and were concerned with their immediate social reality. To prophesy in its truest sense is not to tell the future – it is to critique the prevailing social and religious culture if it is lacking that commitment to justice and the common good. Any future visions offered in the prophetic literature were a warning for not changing our ways.
Throughout scripture, we see prophets appear at points in history
where God is demanding radical change of humanity.
This was true during the destruction of Judah. And it is just as true right now.
The prophetic ministry we are called to engage in is not about being right or about having influence or power. It is rooted in a sustained life of solidarity with the economically poor and the socially marginalized, and is, in fact, the act of divesting yourself of your own social power. In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis writes that solidarity “presumes the creation of a new mindset which thinks in terms of community and the priority of the life of all over the appropriation of goods by a few” (Evangelii Gaudium, 188).
This requires a radical shift in our thinking, in our way of being in the world. We are all called to be, Pope Francis says, “an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor” (187). That is not accomplished through a few good deeds. That is a vocation, and it is specifically the Christian vocation of all – not just bishops or priests or deacons.
Every baptized Christian shares in the responsibility to minister prophetically.
A Social Responsibility
“The Social Doctrine of the Church is a living reality, in dialogue with history, cultures and sciences. At the same time, it enshrines a core set of unchanging truths. For this reason, it can be considered a form of wisdom that is capable of guiding the personal and societal lives of believers even today.”
– Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas
Catholic Social Teaching is a rich body of wisdom that offers a vision of justice and peace toward which we can and should all strive in our daily lives. It is predicated on several principles, foremost of which is that every person is created in the image and likeness of God. This understanding of our own nature should be the guiding star in all of our social interactions and considerations – that just as we ourselves are made in the image and likeness of God, so too is everyone else around us. As such, we should orient ourselves and our actions toward to protection of human life and dignity and the promotion of the common good.
Our participation in social life, including the political process, should exemplify the principles and ethical commitments of social doctrine.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Themes of Catholic Social Teaching is a useful tool for understanding the full scope of this doctrine.
Life and Dignity of the Human Person
The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and euthanasia. The value of human life is being threatened by cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and the use of the death penalty. The intentional targeting of civilians in war or terrorist attacks is always wrong. Catholic teaching also calls on us to work to avoid war. Nations must protect the right to life by finding increasingly effective ways to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful means. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.
Call to Family, Community and Participation
The person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society—in economics and politics, in law and policy—directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. Marriage and the family are the central social institutions that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable.
Rights and Responsibilities
The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Therefore, every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities–to one another, to our families, and to the larger society.
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.
The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected–the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to the organization and joining of unions, to private property, and to economic initiative.
Solidarity
We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that “if you want peace, work for justice.” The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict.
Care for God’s Creation
We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.
Voting as Faithful Citizens
“Let us look to the example of the Good Samaritan. Jesus’ parable summons us to rediscover our vocation as citizens of our respective nations and of the entire world, builders of a new social bond.”
– Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti
What does all of this have to do with voting?
The U.S. Bishops tell us that “responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation” (Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, 13). That participation is rooted in and guided by our prophetic role to critique injustice and work for the reform of systems and customs that harm human life and dignity.
It is precisely at the intersection of our duty as citizens and as Catholics that we can best carry out our obligation. In his message to Americans on the 250th anniversary of the Founding, Pope Leo XIV encouraged us: “It is in the faithful fulfilment of duty — to God and country — that Catholics are called to continue to serve the nation, as leaven for the growth of a civilization of love.”
To vote as a faithful citizen is to commit to forming our consciences as prophetic ministers, to engage in civil and charitable dialogue, and to examine, through the lens of Catholic social and moral teaching, the issues and candidates before casting our vote.
Light and Leaven
“Building a world in which everyone can flourish requires shared responsibility and courage. No one can single-handedly bear the weight of the challenges the world is facing, just as no one is so weak that they cannot play their part.”
– Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas
It is not enough to simply step into the voting booth and cast our vote. There is a greater responsibility to collectively raise the level of discourse and social relationships in all parts of our lives, but especially in politics. Reflecting on Gaudium et Spes, Pope Leo writes in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, “Dialogue with the world is not a tactical choice for the Church, but a concrete expression of her mission because the Gospel, like leaven, is capable of transforming the structures of society from within and forging paths toward a greater humanity” (34).
Today, perhaps more than ever before, our digital culture is driving social discourse toward a dangerous precipice. “Public opinion is gradually being shaped and conditioned by polarizing media narratives,” Pope Leo warns, “which are often amplified by algorithms that prioritize conflict and confrontation” (190). Our engagement with each other, whether face to face or online, must be guided by principles of human dignity, solidarity and the common good.
Conversely, our engagement with media of any kind must be with a skeptical eye, willing to question motives and sources. The proliferation of AI-generated “deepfake” audio, images and videos makes this discernment increasingly difficult. It is unfortunate that our due diligence to responsibly participate in public life must now include such considerations, but that cannot be an excuse to relieve ourselves of the burden of seeking the truth.
Much like reading this guide itself, these are not simple tasks that can be completed without intention and time. This is the nature of discernment; it is a cycle of reflection and decision-making.
When we educate ourselves on the obligations of our faith and the challenges we face, we allow these mere tasks to become moments of grace, in which the Holy Spirit can be even more active in our own lives and in all those around us.
