The object of the Baha'i Faith is unity, so taking sides in a national partisan election [except for voting with a secret ballot, and as long as one does not declare membership with a political party] is forbidden. Some of us on Facebook have had a difficult time refraining from expressing sympathy with certain points of view; we need to wean ourselves away from the divisiveness of the American political process.
There are at least two main factors in the American partisan political process which create divisiveness. One is that the candidates are always running on the basis of their [or the party's] opinion about several issues. So if the candidate believes in the equality of men and women, and the voter does also, you would vote for them. The other factor is that people run who wish to represent a particular viewpoint, and are considered to represent the people who elected them, so they are responsible to vote in Congress in a way that represents the wishes of the people. I tend to experience a lot of tension at election time around worrying whether the person elected will uphold my rights or represent my point of view.
The Baha'i system is rather different. Members of the National Spiritual Assembly make decisions together as a team, at the time that the Assembly meets, and they are not setting the policy running the affairs of the Faith based on either their opinions, or the feelings of the "electorate." People who serve on the Assembly are responsible to God, not to the people who elected them. Also, in the Baha'i Faith, the members have already recognized and agreed with the major issues which were expressed by the Founder of the Faith, Baha'u'llah, so those issues are considered settled. There is no wrangling between members of the Assembly about issues, and in fact, no one in the Baha'i Faith actually runs for office.
Issues which the Founder of the Baha'i Faith "settled" include, but are not limited to:
- Equality of men and women
- Racial unity: there is only one race
- Universal compulsory education
- Agreement of science and religion
- A universal auxiliary language
- Independent investigation of truth
- Spiritual means for the elimination of the extremes of wealth and poverty
Instead of people "running for office," Baha'is meet together at their local conventions and each person votes privately for one person who can "best combine the necessary qualities of unquestioned loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind, of recognized ability and mature experience." The task of voting is carried out with a "purity of spirit" in a "rarefied atmosphere of selflessness and detachment." The person receiving the greatest number of votes is elected as the delegate to the National Convention. No electioneering is allowed; no discussion of any individual's qualifications or suitability; there is no campaigning, and no one offers their services as a delegate.
According to Mahmoud's Diary, the written recollections of one of the Persian believers who accompanied 'Abdu'l-Baha on his journey to America one hundred years ago, 'Abdu'l-Baha made the following statement about the qualifications for President of the United States:
The president must be a man who does not insistently seek the presidency. He should be free of all thoughts of name and rank; rather, he should say, 'I am unworthy and incapable of this position and cannot bear this great burden.' Such persons deserve the presidency. If the object is to promote the public good, then the president must be a well-wisher of all and not a self-seeking person. If the object, however, is to promote personal interests, then such a position will be injurious to humanity and not beneficial to the public.
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