What are the guidelines for what a pastor can say from the pulpit about state and federal elections?
As the representative of the church, a pastor can’t endorse or oppose a particular candidate without violating current IRS guidelines. But as a pastor, you certainly can talk about the issues. You can speak to any topics that are at issue in a particular campaign, without naming candidates. Churches can allow distribution of neutral, non-partisan voter guides. You can also encourage your congregation to exercise their constitutional privilege to vote. The pastor as an individual in a conversation is not prohibited from naming the particular candidate that he is voting for. He has that constitutional right, just like any other US citizen.
