For some people, voting in this Saturday's NSW Local Government elections will simply be a matter of duty to avoid a $55 fine.
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Many others, firm believers in the importance of the three Rs: roads, rates and rubbish, will turn up at the polls having made a considered decision about who should represent them on local council.
The men and women putting themselves forward as candidates will no doubt have weighed up the option to run with just as much consideration.
While complaining about your local council has always been something of a sport, in these days of online abuse and social media trolling, councillors need to have an especially thick hide.
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The reality is, whether you care about the potholes getting filled, the type of property development occurring in your local area or broader issues like climate change - your local council is the closest level of government and the most likely to deliver at a grassroots level.
By the time the average adult brushes their teeth and drives to work or to the shops in the morning, they've likely utilised dozens of services provided by their local council.
This election, which has already been postponed a couple of times due to that pesky pandemic, will look very different.
You have probably noticed how brisk business has been at pre-polling stations; the government has encouraged postal and pre-poll voting in an effort to prevent Dec 4 becoming a COVID super spreader event.
Voters will be asked to bring their own pen, QR code check-in and check-out will be in place, as will the wearing of facemasks.
NSW Electoral Commission staff will also be wearing facemasks and are fully vaccinated. Physical distancing will be enforced.
Those handing out how-to-vote cards will still be there ready to pounce on us, but they will be kept at arm's length. Candidates and volunteers cannot hand out electoral material within 100 metres of a polling place.
The restrictions could mean a slower process at the polls, so extra patience will be required.
And yes, voting is compulsory, so it's worth informing ourselves ahead of Saturday, to make sure we have our say about the make up of our next local council