Another aspect that I think is important and that I think gets overlooked...

Each individual is responsible for their actions and their decisions in life. In belief structures in which people believe in an afterlife, there are usually consequences for actions and decisions taken in the physical life. If someone's conscience tells them to vote for one candidate because they think his or her opponent would cause more pain and suffering in the world (like starting a nuclear war, for instance) and their priest tells them to vote for the opponent, it isn't the priest who will face consequences in the afterlife for their vote if the candidate the priest told them to vote for ends up causing more pain and suffering in the world (or more "evil") than the person they wanted to vote for. They, themselves are the ones who will fact those consequences. That's one of the reasons it is wrong for churches to tell people that they will face spiritual punishment if they don't vote the way the priest tells them to.