Some Seventh-day Adventists wonder whether Adventists should vote in political elections. The question is not new. In 1859 — 12 years after Maine passed the first state law prohibiting the sale of alcohol, but 10 years before the formation of the National Prohibition Party — Ellen White made it clear in her diary that she hoped Sabbath-keepers would disappoint Satan by voting against the sale of alcohol (Ellen White, Temperance, 256). This was a position she advocated her whole life.

But just as often, she appealed to Adventists to not vote for politicians or political issues.

"I call upon my brethren who are appointed to educate, to change their course of action. It is a mistake for you to link your interests with any political party, to cast your vote with them or for them. Those who stand as educators, as ministers, as laborers together with God in any line, have no battles to fight in the political world. Their citizenship is in heaven" (June 16, 1899, Fundamentals of Christian Education, 475).

This counsel applied not just to teachers and preachers, but to all church members: "The Lord would have His people bury political questions. On these themes silence is eloquence. Christ calls upon His followers to come into unity on the pure gospel principles which are plainly revealed in the word of God. We cannot with safety vote for political parties; for we do not know whom we are voting for. We cannot with safety take part in any political schemes" (ibid).

The apparently conflicting advice — vote, don't vote — is not difficult to understand. Ellen White urged Christians to not get caught up in politics or in supporting political parties, but to make their voices and their votes count on moral issues.

In 1881, the question of whether Adventists should vote in support of temperance was discussed seriously among church leaders and members. Ellen White said, "In our favored land, every voter has some voice in determining what laws shall control the nation. Should not that influence and that vote be cast on the side of temperance and virtue?" (Gospel Workers, 387).

We are citizens of two worlds. As American citizens, we have both the right and the duty to vote responsibly. As citizens of the Kingdom of God, we ought to refrain from letting political issues undermine our unity in Christ. Some of us have become so aligned with a political party that our political zeal exceeds our love for Christ. Let us devote our best energies and most passionate affections to Christ. Yet, in every generation, there are forces that would corrupt the American ideal, pervert power and undermine civil and religious liberties. It remains for people of integrity to protect and defend the American commitment to freedom and human rights. Eternal vigilance remains the price of freedom, and such vigilance extends to the voting booth.