Voters like early voting and voter ID, no matter what the politicians say

With another close presidential election looming, among the hotly contested issues, quite logically, is the way the election is administered. Who gets to vote and how they cast their vote can have a big impact on a race decided by a whisker. This led Democrats to oppose voter ID requirements and Republicans to condemn (though they had second thoughts) early and mail-in voting. But the voters themselves have a choice with both parties, as they favor both IDs and advance vote.

Party officials with strong electoral policy views

Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a law banning localities from requiring voters to show ID before voting. “The legislation … is a direct response to a controversial ballot measure approved this year by Huntington Beach voters that requires people to show photo ID at the polls,” RECORDED Politicalthis is tyler katzenberger.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for the nation’s highest elected office, objection in 2021 that it could be “almost impossible” for some people, “especially people living in rural communities,” to provide ID to vote.

Republicans also have concerns about how Americans vote, but worry about early and mail-in ballots. At a May rally in New Jersey, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump he told the audience that “postal voting is largely corrupt”. At an April rally in Wisconsin, Trump he insisted that voting should be limited to election day only. And just last week he flouting Michigan’s early voting procedures, saying “you have the rest of your life to vote whenever you want.”

In 2021, The Washington PostAmy Gardner, Kate Rabinowitz and Harry Stevens finder that Republican lawmakers in 43 states have pushed to “limit voting by mail, early voting in person and on Election Day.” Earlier this month, CNN’s Casey Gannon and Paula Reid reported that “in battleground states … Republicans are suing to challenge everything from whether mail-in ballot envelopes are properly sealed to whether they are mailed correctly.”

Voters want an easy and safe vote

Officials from both parties have strong opinions about how the election should be conducted. But those views don’t match those of most Americans.

“76% of US Adults Agree with the Concept of Early Voting”, conformable in a Gallup poll released last week. “Two other election law policies are supported by even more Americans — requiring photo ID to vote (84%) and providing proof of citizenship when registering to vote for the first time (83%)” .

Democrats and Republicans differ in the strength of their support for these ideas. But what is remarkable is that most partisans both parties and independent voters favor early voting (95% of Democrats, 76% of independents, and 57% of Republicans), requiring photo ID at polling places (67% of Democrats, 84% of independents, and 98 % of Republicans); and require proof of citizenship from those who register to vote (66% of Democrats, 84% of independents, and 96% of Republicans).

The survey did not specifically ask about postal voting, but a separate survey Earlier this month, it found that 27 percent of Democrats, 22 percent of independents and 13 percent of Republicans intended to vote “by mail or by sending an absentee ballot.” Forty-six percent of Democrats, 43 percent of independents and 31 percent of Republicans planned to vote early by any means.

In February, Pew Research also found majority support for photo ID requirements, early voting and allowing anyone to vote by mail. Ninety-five percent of Republicans favored photo ID, with 69 percent of Democrats agreeing. In that poll, however, while 64 percent of GOP voters favored early voting (88 percent of Democrats), only 28 percent supported mail-in ballots (84 percent of Democrats). That suggests Republican positions are shifting somewhat, if not completely, on the idea of ​​voting in ways that don’t require going to the polls on Election Day.

(Most) Republicans are changing their stance and voters are turning out

To their credit, Republican officials seem to be getting the message. Whether it’s realizing they’re at odds with their own supporters or finally realizing that votes in your corner matter no matter when they arrive, they’ve shifted gears to get voters to vote either way. But they face an internal challenge in their quest to get early voting.

“Republicans Invest Tens of Millions of Dollars to Get GOP Voters to Vote Before Election Day”, PoliticalThis is Lisa Kashinsky he wrote three weeks ago. “They’re frustrated because Donald Trump keeps getting in their way.”

Trump has slightly softened his previous outspoken stance against early voting. He even said at one point that he would cast his own vote before election day, then it reversed. Signs at his rallies urge supporters to vote early, but he still ridicules the practice.

The change – confusing as it may be – seems to have worked. Record numbers of Republicans joined Democrats, independents and third-party voters in early voting.

“Republicans account for 35% of the early vote in the 27 states (for which data are available), up from 29% at the same time in 2020,” CNN’s Matt Holt, Ethan Cohen and Molly English RECORDED this week. “Democrats, who accounted for 45 percent of the early vote at this point in 2020, now account for 39 percent of primary ballots cast.”

As California’s law banning localities from requiring voter ID indicates, Democrats have not made a similar change to catch up with their base’s preferences. Party officials remain overwhelmingly committed to allowing voting without ID requirements, regardless of what voters prefer.

Of course, none of the above apply Credits photo ID requirements, early voting, mail-in ballots, or any other election-related procedures. There’s still plenty of room to debate whether any of these are good ideas, bad ideas, or matters of personal preference.

But the American people, in general, want voting to be easy and to involve measures that they believe ensure some degree of honesty. To the extent that party leaders and elected officials differ with the public about how elections should be conducted, they are at war with their own voters.