The content of the criminal laws bearing upon elections is explained under the following groupings: criminal statutes relating to corruption of the voting franchise; criminal statutes relating to the misuse of Federal property, programs, or employment for political purposes; campaign financing statutes with both criminal and civil penalties; and regulatory and disclosure statutes for Federal candidates and political committees. Since the Justice Department's enforcement approach varies with respect to each of these statute categories, departmental policies are presented according to the aforementioned statute categories. Also described are procedures used by Justice Department personnel immediately before and during each national general election to facilitate the detection of law violations. The appendix contains excerpts of pertinent provisions of the U.S. Code dealing with elections, vote fraud, and political campaigns. A table of cases is provided.