Faith should not control a citizen's vote.
Why?
Faith is a personal choice. Beliefs and faith based ideals should not hinder a citizen from voting for a political candidate. Faith should inform and guide, not become the absolute means of controlling the vote.
If a political candidate believes in abortion some would not be able to vote for that political candidate. It's possible they would feel that they where not being a good citizen because they voted to put murderers in office. The same goes for capital punishment. For those whom follow the Bible. The Bible clearly states "Thou shalt not kill". In some thoughts this applies to the state as well to individuals.
What about a pro gay marriage political candidate? Some would not vote for that political candidate and even solicited signatures to try to stop such laws from becoming reality through ballet initiatives. Ultimately, the feeling is the vote would be a compromise to their beliefs and faith. They are only going to vote for those who most closely reflect those beliefs. Their vote clears their conscious, and they feel they did there best by voting for what they believed in.
Such efforts are to be applauded. My concern is the possibility of voting for a political candidate that shares those belief and nothing else. The political candidate may be pro life and against gay marriage, while at the same time be for exporting jobs, raising taxes, pro war, more government control etc. Governing is complex and government official serve a diverse population with varying views that are required to follow the law. While an individual may have beliefs or faith in or toward a cause or issue, that does not mean it should be law.
Voting on a single issue while so many diverse issues face the population can be political suicide; a faith based voter can become a manipulated target. The political candidate can talk and sell their message as a political candidate that shares the same faith and beliefs, then once in office, enact policies that adversely affect those same individuals that help them obtain election.
Voting is not about separating your beliefs in order to cast a ballot. It is about using your faith to inform you decision and using you brain to vote for whom you feel will best execute the functions for the office one elected. It is highly improbable that a voter will agree with a specific political candidate on every issue.
Life is filled with parallel and conflicting choices. The political candidate that is against abortions and is for the death penalty presents an intriguing choice. The average political candidate will not be able to live up to all the beliefs and ideals prescribed by the Bible, Koran, Torah, or any other religious text.
The question was should faith influence a persons vote, of course it should. It is impossible to have faith and that faith not influence your vote. Unfortunately, for most, faith does not influence the vote it controls it. That is a problem.