during this period, presidents may veto legislation passed at the end of a Congressional session simply by ignoring it; the maneuver is known as a pocket veto, and cannot be overridden by the adjourned Congress. Public interaction Advantage of incumbency Citizens and representatives Senators face reelection every six years, and representatives every two. Reelections encourage candidates to focus their publicity efforts at their home states or districts. Running for reelection can be a grueling process of distant travel and fund-raising which distracts senators and representatives from paying attention to governing, according to some critics. Although others respond that the process is necessary to keep members of Congress in touch with voters. Incumbent members of Congress running for reelection have strong advantages over challengers. They raise more money because donors fund incumbents over challengers, perceiving the former as more likely to win, and donations are vital for winning elections. One critic compared election to Congress to receiving life tenure at a university. Another advantage for representatives is the practice of gerrymandering. After each ten-year census, states are allocated representatives based on population, and officials in power can choose how to draw the Congressional district boundaries to support candidates from their party. As a result, reelection rates of members of Congress hover around 90 percent, causing some critics to call them a privileged class. Academics such as Princeton's Stephen Macedo have proposed solutions to fix gerrymandering in the U.S. Senators and representatives enjoy free mailing privileges, called franking privileges; while these are not intended for electioneering, this rule is often skirted by borderline election-related mailings during campaigns. Expensive campaigns In 1971, the cost of running for Congress in Utah was $70,000 but costs have climbed. The biggest expense is television advertisements. Today's races cost more than a million dollars for a House seat, and six million or more for a Senate seat. Since fundraising is vital, "members of Congress are forced to spend ever-increasing hours raising money for their re-election." The Supreme Court has treated campaign contributions as a free speech issue. Some see money as a good influence in politics since it "enables candidates to communicate with voters". Few members retire from Congress without complaining about how much it costs to campaign for reelection. Critics contend that members of Congress are more likely to attend to the needs of heavy campaign contributors than to ordinary citizens. Elections are influenced by many