by Dan McCaleb
A vast majority of voters want policies and procedures in place to guarantee the integrity of elections, according to new polling.
That includes 86 percent of those surveyed who agree that election officials should have access to all necessary information to verify that the number of ballots cast matches the number of voters, and 85 percent who say that election officials should verify the accuracy of the information they receive before signing off on certifying election results. Majorities of Republicans, Democrats and Independents support the proper verification of voting.
The polling of 1,000 registered voters nationwide comes from the nonprofit Follow the Law and Napolitan News Service and has a +/- 3.1 percent margin of error. Follow the Law, according to its website, is “a group of lawyers committed to ensuring elections are free, fair and represent the true votes of all American citizens.” Napolitan News Service is operated by pollster Scott Rasmussen.
“Our group at Follow the Law understands the critical need for voters to have confidence in the electoral process,” Melody Clarke, executive director at Follow the Law, said of the polling results. The “poll highlights that voters, regardless of political affiliation, gender, education, or income, see the accuracy and transparency of the election process as essential.”
When asked if local officials should verify that the total number of votes cast matches the total number of ballots issued and the number of votes certified, a process known as reconciliation, 84 percent of those surveyed said “yes,” 5 percent said “no,” and 11 percent were not sure. When asked if reconciliation even delays final certification of election results, 78 percent of respondents said it was still important. Fifteen percent said certifying the results quickly was more of a priority, and 8 percent were unsure.
An overwhelming 94 percent of respondents said it was either “very important” (71 percent) or “somewhat important” (23 percent) to have representatives of both the Democrat and Republican parties to be present at every step of the vote counting and certification process, with just 3 percent saying it’s “not very important” (2 percent) or “not important at all” (1 percent).
On requiring proof of citizenship to be established before an individual votes, 83 percent of those polled support the requirement. A large majority also supports early voting being limited to one week before Election Day (64 percent) and requiring most people to vote in person (65 percent), with exceptions for the elderly, disabled and hospitalized.
On election results, 75 percent of respondents say they are confident or somewhat confident that votes will be counted correctly across all states; 58 percent said they expect election results within 24 hours; and 87 percent say that if reporting total results takes longer, election officials should explain the reason for the delay.
“These findings show the voting public has become more aware of the intricacies of the election process over the last few years. The more they know – the more they want to know. These respondents were not left or right, they represented a broad unbiased sample of American voters,” pollster Scott Rasmussen, president of RMG Research, said. “Regardless of demographics, they expect transparency in the process and accuracy from the officials overseeing our elections in a timely fashion before final figures are certified.”
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Dan McCaleb is the executive editor of The Center Square.
Photo “Election Day” by Phil Roeder. CC BY 2.0.
