The latest NBC News|SurveyMonkey weekly tracking poll finds that a majority of people in the U.S. (55%) lack confidence that the November election will be conducted in a fair and equal way. Democrats are the most optimistic: 53% of Democrats and Democratic leaners are “very” or “somewhat confident” the election will be conducted in a fair and equal way. Among Republicans and GOP-leaners, just 34% express confidence in how the election will be conducted. Young adults age 18-34 express less confidence (39%), compared with those age 35-64 (43%) and especially seniors 65 and older (50%). Differences by race and ethnicity are minimal.
Nearly all Democrats (86%) and most independents (63%) but just under a quarter of Republicans (23%) support changing the election laws to allow everyone to vote by mail. Overall, 56% of people in the U.S. favor this change, while 42% oppose it. Young adults are the most eager for a change in the election laws: 63% of 18-34 year-olds, 52% of 35-64 year-olds, and 54% of those 65 and older favor the change. Asian, Black, and Hispanic adults are all more likely than whites to favor increased accessibility to voting by mail.
More than half of the country (55%) says they are likely to vote by mail in the November 2020 elections, with sharp contrasts by partisanship. Nearly eight in 10 Democrats (79%) say they are likely to vote by mail, including 57% who are “very likely.” Just one third (33%) of Republicans are likely to vote by mail, while a full 52% are “not likely at all.
For full results, click through the interactive toplines below.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
