The American people are clear: they support voting by mail and other options to expand access to the ballot

As more states consider expanding vote by mail in their state to ensure voters can still cast their ballot in the COVID-19 pandemic, several new polls show that the vast majority of Americans support vote by mail and other reforms that will make our elections more accessible, fair, and secure. Take a look for yourself:

USA Today/Suffolk University Poll (April 21-25, 2020) :65% of Americans support vote-by-mail as an alternative, a greater than 2-to-1 margin over the 32% of Americans who oppose the option. Eighty-four percent of Democratic voters said they support voting by mail and just 14% said they oppose it. Less than half of Republicans polled, 43%, said they support vote-by-mail as an alternative while more than half, 53%, were opposed. Self-identified independent voters said they back vote-by-mail during the pandemic by a 66%-31% margin.

AP-NORC Poll (April 16-20, 2020) :60% of respondents support allowing people to vote by mail-in ballot without requiring them to give a reason.

Harvard/Harris Insights Poll (April 14-16, 2020) :72% of respondents backed conducting the presidential election entirely by mail, while just 28% opposed the idea.

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll (April 13-15, 2020) :58% favor changing election laws to allow everyone to vote by mail, 39% oppose. After asking those who opposed if they would favor vote by mail if the coronavirus is still contagious in November, overall 67% support vote by mail, 29% oppose.

Pew Research Center Poll (April 7-12, 2020) :70% of U.S. adults support allowing any voter to vote by mail if they want to, including 87% of Democrats and 49% of Republicans.

Reuters/Ipsos Poll (April 6-7, 2020) :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 COVID-19 in 2020. 

YouGov Poll (March 20-23, 2020) :65% of Americans support voting-by-mail, including 80% of Democrats, 64% of Independents, and 54% of Republicans. The poll also found vote by mail was much more popular in states that already have robust VBM systems: 87% support in Hawaii, 82% in Utah, 78% in Colorado, 78% in Washington, and 77% in Oregon.

If you want to learn more about why expanding mail-in voting options and other election reforms is essential right now, check out this new op-ed by Sylvia Albert, Common Cause’s director of voting & elections, here.