"I feel I must reaffirm the vital importance and necessity of the right of
voting--a sacred responsibility of which no adult recognized believer
should be deprived, unless he is associated with a community that has not
as yet been in a position to establish a Local Assembly. This
distinguishing right which the believer possesses, however, does not carry
with it nor does it imply an obligation to cast his vote, if he feels that
the circumstances under which he lives do not justify or allow him to
exercise that right intelligently and with understanding. This is a matter
which should be left to the individual to decide himself according to his
own conscience and discretion."