Shuffling up to the smiley woman with the list, perhaps in a school or church hall _ she will cross off your name and allocate a cardboard booth.

You will peruse the list of candidate names and tick the boxes using whatever election methodology you prescribe to.

Some of you will make your choice based on party promises that have sprouted from press releases in the past few months.

Others will decide based on character attributes like integrity, solidarity and conviction.

Still others won't give a damn.

Ink will mark the box of the candidate with the fanciest last name, the widest smile or the most billboards.

Fair enough. Politics isn't the most savoury of subjects for a vast majority.

But health is, and education, infrastructure, aged care, transport, employment and so on and so forth.

Because these are the things that affect us directly.

Unfortunately for the politi-phobes, our elected leaders make the policy choices that count in these areas.

So we need to care.

Now is the time to be taking note of what politicians stand for, what flag they hold high. What does their track record tell us about their motivations

and what are they saying about all the big issues?

This far in, no voter is insignificant and it's unlikely you will find a candidate without a few minutes to spare.

But it is so easy to criticise.

Politicians are easy prey to the cynic in all of us, and it's often the mud-slinging, the lack of funding, the shortfalls of our leaders that make dinnertime discussions.

Cut them some slack.

We're talking about people who are working insane hours here.

They give up family time, social niceties and private life in an effort to be a champion representative.

Proverbs 3:27 says, "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.''

Give credit where credit's due.

I wonder how many "well done'' emails David Bartlett, Nick McKim and Will Hodgman receive in your average week. I'm guessing not many.

And we should pray.

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness,'' 1 Timothy 2:1-2 reads.

On March 21 when we awake to a new period of leadership in our state, it's safe to say that not everybody is going to be happy.

Whatever the outcome, the responsibility is ours to honour our leaders, to give them respect, to keep them accountable to their promises and to pray to God that he will guide them in the leadership of our state.