The Amish love the president; will they vote for him?

The Amish tend to shun newfangled things—electricity, cars, modern clothes, presidential politics. Only about one in ten vote. But their conservative Christian values and suspicion of big government make them natural adherents of the right. As the Amish put it, “We don’t vote, but we pray Republican.”

Republicans have been courting the Amish in the battleground states of Pennsylvania (where there are 50,000 of them) and Ohio (54,000). The election boards in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and Holmes County, Ohio, have seen a surge in Amish names among those registering to vote. If even a few thousand of them were to horse-and-buggy it to the polls in either state on election day, it could make all the difference to George Bush in a neck-and-neck race.

The president met privately with a small group of Amish in Lancaster County in July. Ever since, the local party faithful have been chasing the Amish vote, even offering to drive them to the polls.
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The Amish seem to feel that one of their own is in the White House. “He comes from the old school,” one says. Mr Bush’s foreign wars do not accord with Amish pacifism, but his religious conviction and his stance on social issues have got their hearts aflutter. They see gay marriage as an affront to their way of life; the president’s opposition to abortion “puts warm circles around our hearts”. Even Mr Bush’s wild past resonates: Amish teenagers are known to sow their oats before returning to the church.
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As with many other Americans, voting is not always a priority. November is the Amish wedding season, and election day falls on a popular day to get married. “If I hitch my horse there at the wedding,” one man complains, “there’s no way I’m going to make it all the way back to vote.”