Nuns on the Bus and Friends stop in Nogales to encourage voter participation

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Ariz. (KGUN) — In Nogales, a unique initiative led by the Nuns on the Bus and Friends has taken to the streets, using faith as a motivator to rally voters on critical issues.

For the first time in six years, the Nuns on the Bus, along with their supporters, are traveling through 20 cities across 11 states to promote voter engagement as part of the Vote Our Future tour. Their message: voting is more than a civic duty—it’s a way to ensure that democracy remains strong.

On Sunday, October 13, the group made its latest stop at the Nogales Border Plaza, where they joined the Kino Border Initiative to discuss key issues that will be on the minds of voters this election.

Sister Janet Kinney of St. Joseph’s, Brentwood, New York, who has been part of the Nuns on the Bus campaign for several years, highlighted the urgency of this election.

“This is such a critical election year,” Kinney said. “I really feel democracy is on the line and we need to use the power of our vote.”

The group is focusing on a wide range of issues, including affordable healthcare, housing and comprehensive immigration reform. Sister Janet explained that these issues intersect in helping communities become stronger.

"You need a safe community, you need a welcoming community. You need a place where you have good healthcare, where you have housing,” Kinney said. “When you have all those things together, then you yourself can thrive, your family can thrive, the community and the economy can thrive."

Sister Kinney and her group encouraged their followers to be “multi-issue voters” and take a close at where the candidates stand on a range of policy.

“The world is not simplistic,” she said. “It’s not one issue. To live a good, healthy life, you need all these things.”

Sister Eileen McKenzie, a Mobilization Specialist at the Kino Border Initiative, emphasized the need for voters to take a holistic approach to voting.

“It’s not one size fits all,” McKenzie said. “We really need to be discerning and we need to trust that we have a voice that the candidates will listen to.”

The Kino Border Initiative invited the group to come down to the border as part of their nationwide tour. McKenzie says a person’s faith will naturally inform their voting habits.

“Our churches and our communities are not separate,” she said. “We are inspired by our faith, moved by our faith and we live that out in society.”

Another participant, Lisa Sharon Harper, founder of Freedom Road LLC, shared her perspective on the connection between faith and policy.

“Our faith tells us every single human being is made in the image of God, and therefore worthy of our protection,” she said. “Our Christian ethics need to guide every aspect of our lives and that includes what we do in private in the voting booth.”

Harper joined the Nuns on the Bus and Friends for the Nogales stop largely to hear directly from those affected by current immigration policies. Harper underscored the need for comprehensive reform.

“No one left behind. That is what people want,” she said. “They want education where no one is left behind, they want healthcare where no one is left behind. They want immigration policy where no one is left behind.”

From Nogales, Nuns on the Bus will travel to Phoenix, followed by a two-day stop in Las Vegas on October 14. They end the tour on October 18 with a stop in San Francisco.

Nuns on the Bus and Friends is a project of NETWORK Advocates for Catholic Social Justice. The organization was founded by Catholic Sisters in 1972 to educate, lobby and organize for federal policies that serve the common good.

For more information on the Nuns on the Bus and NETWORK, visit the organization’s website.