Why Charedim Vote

Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblum wrote a thoughtful post on Cross-Currents about why Charedi voter turnout was so low this past week (link). In passing, he wrote:

Voting is something chareidim do because the gedolim tell them to do.

How sad is that? What ever happened to giving a hoot about the future of the country in which one lives, i.e. civic responsibility? Perhaps they are cynical about the effect of their vote, but given the clear benefits of even limited success in Israel's parliamentary system, they have much less reason for cynicism than those of us in the US. Yet, unless the Gedolim tell them to vote, they don't.

Another reason I'll never be a true Charedi.