Author: Randy Slovacek

According to a new survey by Pew Research Center, the number of Republicans who say “everything possible” should be done to make voting easy has dropped precipitously since 2018. Of course, this comes after their candidate lost the 2020 presidential election thanks to record-breaking voter participation. As a response, state legislatures have introduced over 360 voter restriction bills this year. Many election experts say the new laws will disproportionately affect voters of color, as well as those with disabilities. Georgia, whose close elections for president and U.S. Senate drew national attention, has already passed a bill that effectively suppresses the vote in the Peach State. Some aspects of the Georgia law include reducing the time period voters have to request absentee ballots, limiting the use of ballot drop boxes, and making it illegal to hand out water to voters standing in line for hours. Crunching the Pew Center’s data:

• 59% of U.S. adults overall say everything possible should be done to make it easy for every citizen to vote, while 39% say citizens should have to prove they want to vote by registering ahead of time.

• 85% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents say everything possible should be done to make it easy for every citizen to vote, while 14% say citizens should have to prove they really want to vote by registering ahead of time.

• 28% of Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents say everything possible should be done to make it easy for all citizens to vote, while 71% say American citizens should prove they really want to vote by registering ahead of time.

It’s worth noting that prior to the 2018 mid-term elections, 48% of Republicans said everything possible should be done to make it easy to vote, while 51% said citizens should have to prove they really want to vote by registering ahead of time. That shows a clear 20 point shift in Republican attitudes on voting in less than 3 years. Broken down by race, 84% of Black adults and 69% of Hispanic adults say everything possible should be done to make it easy to vote, only 51% of white respondents said the same. On the issue of election security:

• 61% of U.S. adults overall say it would not make elections less secure if election rules were changed to make it easier to register and vote.

• 82% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents say the same.

• 37% of Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents say the same.

Read the full report from Pew Research here.