electioneering
Electioneering refers to efforts by political groups or individuals to persuade voters to support or oppose specific candidates, political parties, or ballot issues in an upcoming election. This can involve displaying campaign signs, distributing literature, or directly soliciting votes for or against a person, party, or position.
Electioneering can be restricted within a certain area by statute. For example:
- In Missouri, it is an offense to electioneer “on election day inside the building in which a polling place is located or within twenty-five feet of the building's outer door closest to the polling place,” under Section 115.637.
- In New York, electioneering is prohibited “within the polling place or within one hundred feet [of the polling place],” under Section 17-102.
See, e.g., Montanans for Community Development v. Mangan (2018); People v. Maldonado (2019)
At the federal level, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), codified at Title 52, Subtitle III of the U.S. Code, restricted “electioneering communications” by barring federal candidates from using corporate and union funds to run TV ads via satellite or cable within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election. See § 441b, now at 52 U.S.C. § 30118. However, in Citizens United v. FEC, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), the Supreme Court struck down this restriction as unconstitutional under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. For more details about this case, see the Wex article for Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010).
[Last reviewed in July of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team]
Wex