Participation in Bahá'í elections is “a spiritual obligation”

The aim should always be so to educate the friends during the year that they consider their participation in Bahá'í elections not only as a right they exercise, but as a spiritual obligation which, when discharged in the proper Bahá'í spirit, contributes to the health and growth of the Bahá'í community. (The Universal House of Justice, from a memorandum dated 18 June 1980 to the International Teaching Centre; The Compilation of Compilation, Vol. III, Sanctity and Nature of Baha’i Elections)