Amish voter project advices by AmishPAC.com in 2022? Amish PAC has no use for internet and television advertising because the voters we’re targeting don’t use the internet or watch television. Therefore, Amish PAC’s ad blitz is two-pronged: Newspapers and Billboards. In addition, Amish PAC is building a large network of volunteers across Amish Country to assist in voter registration and flyer distribution. Amish PAC has been featured by international and national media outlets spanning Al-Jazeera, Toronto Star, London Times, NBC News, The Economist, BBC News, CBC News, POLITICO, Talking Points Memo, RT, Al-Jazeera, VICE, TIME, CNN, Breitbart, NPR, Fox News, USA Today, Drudge Report, Fox Business, Yahoo News, Esquire, New York Daily News, The Week Magazine and countless local media outlets throughout Amish Country. See more details on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa7-Eq3QK9SSbnANEMGol2w.
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.
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.
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.
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. Find more details at Amish vote registering guides.
U.S politicians such as George W. Bush, Donald Trump, and William Griest are said to have courted the Amish people for their votes in elections. The efforts made by these politicians to appeal to the few hundred thousand Amish people sprinkled throughout the country is a testament to the importance of Amish votes to politicians. Though the Amish community doesn’t seem large enough to strongly sway the election result, they are primarily situated in states that constitute the “swing states.” For example, in recent years in Pennsylvania, presidential elections have been decided by less than 100,000 votes in the state.