Pius XII on Voting

There is a photo of Pope Pius XII with these words:

There is a heavy responsibility on everyone, man or woman, who has the right to vote, especially when the interests of religion are at stake; abstention in this case is in itself, it should be thoroughly understood, a grave and a fatal sin of omission. On the contrary, to exercise, and exercise well, one's right to vote is to work effectively for the true good of the people, as loyal defenders of the cause of God and of the Church.

The words are taken from Papal Directives for the Woman of Today, Allocution of Pope Pius XII to the Congress of the International Union of Catholic Women's Leagues, Rome, Italy, September 11, 1947.
(EWTN)

I think we must distinguish between voting for laws and voting for candidates, and in the latter case, between situations in which one has enough information to make an informed choice and one in which one does not. We should vote when there is a clear choice that has a direct impact on a law being passed, or when we know the candidates well enough that we know they differ significantly in character. The more distant you are from the question of actual legislation, the less this precept holds.

I think that this reading can be fitted to the allocution, as this is what precedes the above:

Be present everywhere for the faith, for Christ, in every way and to the utmost possible limit, wherever vital interests are at stake, wherever laws bearing on the worship of God, marriage, the family, the school, the social order are proposed and discussed.

Why do so many people act surprised when politicians lie or break their promises? You didn't know them well enough to begin with to judge them to be trustworthy and reliable.

A more mainstream interpretation, emphasizing that there is duty to vote: What Keeps Me Catholic? Civic Responsibility. Google Search will probably yield some more results in which this interpretation is advanced (like this and this), but I think it would be a premature reading of the Holy Pontiff's words.

It may be that my reading of Pius XII is too narrow, and that he refers to the choosing of candidates for office as well. Are his words to be taken absolutely? Or do we acknowledge their weight and seek confirmation from Tradition? There is no constant witness to the Church on the question of voting in modern nation-states, as it is a relatively recent development in the history of the world. So we must reason from more general principles of moral and political theology.

Of course, there is also section 2240 in the CCC (as pointed out in this thread), which states that citizens have a moral obligation to vote. But I find "voting" here to be vague as well. If it encompasses voting for both laws and candidates, then I have to disagree, though I may judged to be wrong. Kyrie eleison.

Of course, during this presidential election, Catholics aren't the only ones who are talking about the duty to vote.

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