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Voters Nix Election Delay But Less Supportive of Mail-In Voting

Support for mail-in voting is eroding amidst reports of problems and irregularities, but fewer voters are prepared to delay the upcoming presidential election because of the coronavirus.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that just 18% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the November presidential election should be delayed because of the coronavirus threat if necessary. That’s down from 25% in mid-March when Rasmussen Reports first asked this question. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Fifty-three percent (53%) still favor voting by mail in their state because of the coronavirus, but support is down from 64% in April. Forty-one percent (41%) are now opposed, up from 27% in the previous survey.

Sixty-five percent (65%) of Democrats and 56% of voters not affiliated with either major party support voting by mail in their home state, compared to only 36% of Republicans.

Fifty-six percent (56%) of all voters remain concerned that the increased use of voting by mail will lead to more voter fraud, with 40% who are Very Concerned. This compares to 58% and 36% respectively in April.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted August 2-3, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Voters in both major parties are getting more enthusiastic about a Trump-Biden presidential matchup in November. But most aren’t prepared to reelect their local member of Congress.

Twenty-two percent (22%) of Republicans and 21% of Democrats are ready to delay the election, but just nine percent (9%) of voters not affiliated with either major party agree.

Seventy-eight percent (78%) of GOP voters see a danger of more voter fraud with increased use of voting by mail. Only 43% of Democrats and 45% of unaffiliated voters share that concern.

Those under 40 are much more enthusiastic about delaying the election than older voters are. Since older people are more at risk from the coronavirus, it’s no surprise that the older the voter, the more supportive they are of voting by mail and the less worried they are about voter fraud.

Only 25% of voters who favor voting by mail are concerned about increased voter fraud. Among voters who oppose mail-in voting, 93% have that concern.

Most voters have long supported a requirement that voters show photo identification before being allowed to vote and don’t believe such laws discriminate against some.

Several countries including Australia have made voting compulsory, and California is considering a similar law that would penalize those who don’t vote. But voters nationally still don’t like the idea of mandatory voting and tend to think worse government would be the end result.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted August 2-3, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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