The main actors in electoral contests are the rival political parties and their candidates. Naturally, the central task of electoral administration is to regulate them. But they are not the only actors. Groups not wishing to put forward candidates themselves, or to declare their support for one political party, may nevertheless seek to influence the electoral debate. Religious groups may seek to affect the policies of the politicians on such issues as abortion, marriage laws, education, or a variety of moral issues. Single-issue groups interested in workers' rights, law and order, the environment, animal welfare, or a host of economic issues and non-economic issues may spend money on ensuring that the candidates and the voters hear their voices.
These activities pose a problem for the regulation of elections. On the one hand, it would seem unreasonable, indeed undemocratic, to seek to silence these groups. They are entitled to have their say. On the other hand, it may prove impossible to ensure fairness between parties and between candidates if pressure groups are free from regulation too. For example, what is the point of restricting election spending by political parties and by candidates if interest groups have no spending limit on advertising their views, and on attacking (either openly or by implication) one party or one group of candidates?
The choice between a narrow, and therefore ineffective, system of control, and a wide, and therefore oppressive one, is posed in a number of the entries on Parties and Candidates, see Interest Groups: Third parties.
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