Black Out Sunday engages 1,000 Texas churches for early voting
Early voting is entering its final week, and North Texas faith leaders are pushing to get congregations to the polls. The Black Out Sunday initiative aims to engage a thousand churches across Texas.
Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth hosted a festival to get the congregation excited to head out to the polls and vote early on this Black Out Sunday. Leaders at the church hope the fun activities at the event will encourage eligible members of the 1,000-person congregation to make their voices heard at the polls. Valerie and Fred Smith made their way to vote early on Sunday.
"I just feel like it's better to vote as soon as possible. Let's not wait because anything can happen on that day. You may not be able to do it, so if they're giving you the opportunity to vote early, I suggest anybody that wants to vote to go in now," Valerie Smith said.
"Voting is something that's been implemented in me even before I was age two. It's vital that we go out and vote. It's a God-given right," Fred Smith said.
Impact Texas 2026 is leading the Black Out Sunday effort during the only weekend of early voting. The faith-centered, non-partisan movement aims to engage 1,000 historically Black churches across Texas to encourage full voter participation.
Congregations taking part may organize transportation, share local polling information, and provide voter assistance to encourage members to vote at the location and time most convenient to them.
Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church's Rev. Parish Lowery believes it's important to mobilize and get people to the polls
"We need change in our community. It is our sacred duty, but also a serious duty to get to the polls to bring about a change," Lowery said. "We know that can happen through early voting, but it's also our civic duty. It's what we're supposed to do because others died."
Early voting continues through Friday.
VoteHub's 2026 Midterm Early Voting Tracker shows more than 3 million Texans have already cast their ballot during early voting.