According to a Pew poll published this week, the proportion of Republicans saying that “everything possible should be done to make voting easy” has fallen since 2018.
Why it matters: According to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice, state lawmakers passed at least 361 voter restriction bills this year. Voting proponents say that many of the bills, if passed, will disproportionately affect voters of color, as well as people with disabilities.
In numbers:
To make voting easier:
- 59% of American adults say everything should be done to make it easy for every citizen to vote, while 39% say citizens must prove they want to vote by registering in advance.
- 85% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents say that everything possible should be done to make it easy for every citizen to vote, while 14% say citizens should prove that they really want to vote by registering in advance.
- 28% of Republicans and Republican Independents say everything possible should be done to make it easy for all citizens to vote, while 71% say US citizens must prove they really want to vote by registering in advance.
- “While 84% of black adults and 69% of Hispanic adults say that everything possible should be done to make voting easy, only about half of white adults say the same thing,” Pew wrote.
About election security:
- 61% of American adults say so not make elections less secure if electoral rules are changed to make it easier to register and vote.
- 82% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents say the same.
- 37% of Republicans and Republican Independents say the same.
Flashback: The most dramatic shift from 2018 was among Republicans, Pew said.
- Before the 2018 midterm elections, 48% of Republicans said everything needed to be done to make voting easy, while 51% said citizens should prove they really want to vote by registering in advance.
Methodology: The data comes from a panel survey conducted from March 1 to March 7, 2021. A total of 12,055 panel members responded to a total of 13,545 from the sample, for a response rate of 89%. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 12,055 respondents is ± 1.5 percentage points.