A group of 23 Cincinnati area churches is expanding to include members of other faiths as it seeks to increase voter registration and civic involvement.
The chair of The Church Collaborative, Cynthia Pinchback-Hines, says the group is piloting a program in September called "Righteous Representation."
"Our hope is that this will be the beginning of a very, very critical move in our community to educate our citizens so that they understand not only why they vote, but they also want to participate," Pinchback-Hines says. "We thought we'd start with our churches and faith centers because we stand at the center of our communities."
Pinchback-Hines says the program is non-partisan.
"We can get back to where our churches are a lot more active. ... People may think automatically if you are registering people to vote that you're taking a side. No, you're registering people to vote because it's the thing to do, that's what citizens do. It's our right."
She says additional training will be offered in the weeks afterward as well.
The event is at the Community Action Agency on Sept. 21 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
