Despite President Joe Biden’s assault on election integrity efforts in several states, voters in record numbers are demanding that identification be presented to get a ballot and want reforms across the board in all 50 states.
New polling provided to Secrets Monday showed that 84% want voter ID, and huge percentages of black and Hispanic voters are behind the surge in support as the nation readies for the fall congressional midterm elections.
The polling from the Honest Elections Project for two groups, the American Legislative Exchange Council and the National Conference of State Legislatures, is the latest to show that the push by Biden and his media allies has fallen flat, especially among minorities who the president claimed would be hurt by election integrity laws passed in states such as Georgia.
“Photo ID laws are a case in point: Support for photo ID laws is seven points higher than a year ago. Left-wing special interests and politicians like President Biden carried out an intense, often misleading, campaign meant to stir opposition to policies like strong voter ID. Their efforts have had the opposite effect. More people than ever — including most black and Hispanic voters — back photo ID laws,” said the polling analysis provided to Secrets.
The memo to the two groups also highlighted support for a ban on outside funding of elections, which would have blocked a controversial organization funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg that boosted turnout in Democratic areas in the 2020 election.
Many of the issues in the poll echo recent state election integrity legislative debates decried by Democrats. Liberals have charged that cleaning up voter lists, requiring voter ID, and tightening mail-in voting would undermine minority voting, though it is unclear how.
Voters, however, have repeatedly said that making voting more secure is their priority, and the poll shows that remains true:
- In addition to the 84% support for identification laws, 75% would vote for a ballot initiative requiring everyone to show photo ID in person or write an ID number on a mail ballot. And 75% said it would be “easy” to write an ID number on a ballot.
- Over 60% want a ban on vote trafficking, or allowing people to bundle votes and drop them in boxes.
- Most want clearer mail-in voting, which exploded during the COVID crisis. The survey said that 80% of voters believe that the convenience of mail voting must be balanced with adequate protections against fraud.
- Over half, 52%, want private funding of elections “cut off.”
- Eight in 10 want states to clean up voter roles and eliminate duplicate names, dead voters, and outdated and inaccurate information.
- Nearly all want voting by foreign citizens banned. Only 9% of voters think that noncitizens should be able to vote. Noncitizen voting was rejected by 75% of Hispanic voters and 69% of black voters, as well as 77% of Democrats and 83% of independents.
“It is time to stop debating election integrity laws and start enacting them in every state. Americans want elections they can trust, and for the vast majority of voters (85%) protecting voting rights means not just ensuring access but also protecting the security of the voting system as a whole,” said the analysis.
