Perhaps the best way to understand the Baha'i administrative system is to examine its basic unit, the Local Spiritual Assembly. Elected each year in every community where there are nine or more adult Baha'is, the Local Spiritual Assembly performs many of the functions that have traditionally been associated with clergy - and more. Indeed, the processes that underlie the Local Spiritual Assembly can be said to offer a new model for participatory, democratic decision making at the grassroots level.

At the present time, Local Spiritual Assemblies oversee the wide variety of activities that constitute the essence of Baha'i community life. These include the education of children, the observance of holy days, devotional services, study classes, discussions, social events, marriages, and funeral services. Many Local Spiritual Assemblies around the world also sponsor ongoing small-scale educational, social and economic, or environmental development projects.

Local Spiritual Assemblies also perform executive and judicial functions, handling correspondence and money for the community and overseeing the application of Baha'i law in matters such as divorce or disputes between community members.

As with all other Baha'i elected institutions, Local Spiritual Assemblies function only as a body, making all decisions as a group, using the process of consultation in arriving at those decisions. Individual Assembly members have no special authority, status, or power outside the Assembly itself.

Typically, the reach of the Local Spiritual Assembly is defined by the municipal boundaries established by the government. In other words, all Baha'is who live within the boundaries of a particular village, town, city, or civic district are considered to be within the jurisdiction of the Spiritual Assembly of that locality.

The process by which Local Spiritual Assembly members are elected, likewise, is worth describing in some detail, as many of the features of local Baha'i elections are mirrored at the regional, national, and international levels.

The Local Spiritual Assembly is elected each year by secret ballot. In April, all adult Baha'is in the community gather for the election. Those who cannot personally attend are encouraged to submit absentee ballots. After a period of prayer and meditation, each adult chooses the nine individuals that he or she feels are best qualified to administer the affairs of the community.

The qualities such individuals should possess are spelled out quite clearly in the Baha'i writings. Those participating in the election should consider "the names of only those who can best combine the necessary qualities of unquestioned loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind, of recognized ability and mature experience."

One of the most intriguing aspects of this process is the absence of a prepared ballot - or of any system of nominations. Instead, every adult Baha'i in the community is eligible for election to the Local Spiritual Assembly.

Those elected to the Assembly need not receive a majority of votes; rather, the nine individuals who receive the highest number of votes are selected. Since every adult in the community is, in essence, up for election, individuals have the opportunity to vote according to their conscience with an absolute freedom of choice. In no other system do individuals exercise such a breadth of freedom in the electoral process.

Although this system defies political convention, it is remarkably effective in practice. The Baha'i writings encourage the election of individuals with recognized ability, maturity, experience, and humility - instead of simply those who might be bold or ambitious enough to run for office. Indeed, the whole emphasis of the Baha'i electoral system is to bring forth leaders who possess qualities of selflessness, intellectual capacity, moral integrity, and wisdom.

Local Spiritual Assemblies also supervise the Nineteen Day Feast, which is the cornerstone of community activity and a means for the Assembly to hear directly from the community. And, although the Assembly is ultimately the final source for decision making in the community, the institution of the Feast is an important component of grassroots governance.