voters

Grassroots political organizations can organize campaigns that urge voters to contact their senators and promote challengers in primary elections as a tactic to influence party leadership decisions.

Political campaigns commonly attempt to cast opponents as representing the ideological extremes of their parties to influence voter perceptions.

A political candidate's vocal criticism of a foreign government's actions can decrease support among voters who are members of, or closely connected to, diasporic communities with ties to that country.

Ballot measures can be used to alter or replace existing redistricting mechanisms or congressional district maps.

Pennsylvania uses retention elections for state Supreme Court justices, in which voters decide whether to award sitting justices another term.

Documentary proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration can create administrative hurdles for voters; for example, people who changed their names after marriage may need multiple documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, and state identification to establish citizenship and identity.

Early in an election cycle, many voters have not formed firm preferences and frequently consider multiple potential candidates at the same time, leading to substantial cross-consideration among contenders.

Redistricting plans are commonly subject to judicial review, legal challenges, and voter referendum or initiative processes, any of which can delay, modify, or block implementation of new maps.

Under Virginia law, a proposed state constitutional amendment must be approved by a simple majority of the legislature, then approved again by the legislature after an intervening election (typically in January or February), and then submitted to voters as a ballot measure.

Since 1966, Washington voters have considered at least 10 proposed constitutional amendments to exempt certain funds from the state constitutional ban on investing public funds in private stocks and equities, and five of those measures passed (most recently in 2007).

Absentee ballots are distributed to voters ahead of scheduled elections.

Newly drawn congressional districts can change the competitiveness of races and the projected partisan composition of U.S. House seats, producing more closely divided districts and potentially more expensive campaigns.

Some U.S. states require that congressional redistricting plans be approved directly by voters through ballot measures or referendums.