I once asked someone whether she was going to vote and she replied, with great confidence, “I don’t do politics.” It was said as if politics were a niche interest, like padel or cold water swimming.
I understood the fatigue. Truly, I did. But I remember thinking: politics may not interest you, but it is very interested in your roads, your rates, your safety, your schools, your business, your electricity supply, and the price of almost everything.
Voting is not only about parties, candidates or manifestos. It is about refusing to become a spectator in your own country. Of course, cynicism is tempting. Some politicians campaign as if memory is not a thing and accountability is a rumour. But democracy is not improved by our irritation from a distance. It is strengthened when ordinary citizens insist on being counted.
For me, voting is not an act of blind faith in politics. It is an act of responsibility despite politics. It says that, even where the choices are imperfect, the outcome is still too important to ignore. We do not vote because everything is working. We vote because the direction of our country, our city and our community is not something to leave entirely to other people.
As Jews, that matters deeply. For much of our history, decisions were made about us, not with us. So, when I vote, I do not see a small administrative chore. I see citizenship. I see belonging. I see a voice our grandparents would never have taken for granted. In a country where our community has worked hard to contribute, build and belong, participation is not a luxury. It is part of the responsibility of being here.
We are, after all, not a community short of opinions. At any Shabbat table, we debate, question and challenge – often with the confidence of people certain they could fix the country before dessert. But democracy needs more than commentary. It needs action. A vote turns opinion into participation. It is where all the analysis, frustration, hope and argument finally have somewhere useful to go.
Every election matters, including a by-election. Local decisions shape the places where we live, work, worship and raise our families. They affect safety, services, jobs, public spaces and social cohesion. These are not abstract issues. They are the streetlights that work, the roads that are repaired, the neighbourhoods that feel safe, the businesses that can operate, and the small daily signs that a country is either being cared for or quietly neglected.
That is why I will vote. Not because I believe one ballot paper can fix everything. Not because democracy is neat, easy or perfect. But because I refuse to be passive in the country I call home. I want to know that I showed up, used the voice I have, and did not outsource my future to someone else’s apathy.
If we are going to speak up – and let’s face it, we will – then let’s make sure our voices count where it matters most: at the ballot box.
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