Memo To Trump: Americans Want Expanded Vote-By-Mail
April 29, 2020
The vast majority of Americans support vote-by-mail and other reforms to expand voting access — not just during the coronavirus crisis, but permanently. Despite its popularity, Trump and Republicans are fighting efforts to protect the right to vote because their agenda is so toxic that they know it will be rejected if every eligible American is able to safely vote.
More than two-thirds of voters agree everyone should be able to vote by mail this November.
Newsweek: “A new poll shows that nearly three-quarters of voters support transitioning the 2020 presidential election entirely to mail-in ballots, despite significant criticism from President Donald Trump and other Republicans.”
NBC News: “A total of two-thirds — 67 percent — of the electorate supports allowing anyone to vote by mail in this year’s general election.”
Reuters: “72% of all U.S. adults, including 79% of Democrats and 65% of Republicans, supported a requirement for mail-in ballots as a way to protect voters in case of a continued spread of the respiratory disease later this year.”
Associated Press: “A new AP-NORC poll finds that 6 in 10 Americans would support their state conducting vote by mail elections in November due to a coronavirus outbreak.”
A bipartisan majority of Americans, including in battleground states, believe voters should permanently have expanded options to vote by mail when the pandemic ends.
YouGov: “A YouGov poll finds that the majority of Americans (65%) support voting-by-mail. The idea of all-mail elections garners bipartisan support, and it is especially popular in states where it is already implemented.”
The Nation: “A Democracy Corps poll of 2,000 people in 16 battleground states … found that 73 percent of those surveyed favored no-excuse absentee voting—with 85 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of independents, and 59 percent of Republicans supporting the idea. Asked about the ambitious reform of having everyone in their state vote by mail, 68 percent responded favorably.”
Wall Street Journal: “Some 58% of voters in the survey said they favor changing election laws permanently to allow voting by mail.”
AP-NORC Poll: “Fifty-six percent of Americans favor their state allowing people to vote by mail without needing to provide a reason. Just 26% oppose.”
While the coronavirus crisis has accelerated the shift to vote-by-mail and expanded early vote, it is part of a long-term trend.
U.S. Election Assistance Commission: “Over the past decade … the number of states offering early voting, no-excuse absentee voting, and vote by mail has increased.”