A new national Media Research Center study conducted by McLaughlin & Associates reveals that U.S. voters strongly oppose key provisions in Democrats’ H.R. 1 bill, the so-called “For the People Act,” that would circumvent state laws requiring photo identification to vote and provide public funding of the majority of a campaign's expense.
Regarding the photo I.D. requirement, which is currently used by many states to ensure election integrity, the survey asked:
“Thinking about election security, which of the following statements do you most agree with?”
“Asking voters to present a valid photo ID when voting is unreasonable and is a form of voter suppression.”
Or
“Asking voters to present a valid photo ID when voting is reasonable and is a valid method of ensuring election integrity.”
Fully 78.0% of U.S. voters say asking voters to present a photo as proof of identity is an appropriate method of ensuring election integrity – more than four times the 17.2% who say it’s an unreasonable form of voter suppression. Another 4.8% say they “don’t know.”
By party, 89.4% of Republicans say they approve of requiring a photo I.D., as do 79.4% of Independents.
Nearly two-thirds (66.0%) of Democrats also agree that asking for a photo I.D. is reasonable and valid, more than twice the 27.7% who say it isn’t.
By race, nearly three-fourths of Hispanic (73.0%), African-American (72.0%) and Asian (72.5%) voters consider the photo I.D. a valid and reasonable method of ensuring voter integrity. Four of five (81.0%) of White voters agree.
The survey also asked the following question regarding campaign funding:
“When it comes to political campaigns, which of the following statements do you most agree with?”
“Candidates running for office should pay for their campaigns with money they raise on their own.”
Or
“The federal government should provide politicians with the majority of the money needed to fund their campaigns.”
More than three-fourths (77.0%) of voters say the candidates should fund their own campaigns, while just 15.3% say the federal government should provide the majority of money and 7.8% say they don’t know how campaigns should be funded.
Strong majorities of Republicans (88.6%), Democrats (69.0%) and Independents (72.3%) say campaigns should pay their own way instead of relying on public money.
Likewise, all race classes would prefer that campaigns should rely on their own fundraising, with 71.5% of Hispanics, 68.3% of African-Americans, 61.2% of Asians and 80.9% of Whites agreeing.
Incorporating the two provisions into a question gauging support for H.R. 1, the survey asked:
“In March, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, which they call the ‘For the People Act.’ This act bypasses state voter I.D. laws and establishes a new public financing system for certain federal elections. Do you support or oppose these elements of H.R. 1?”
Here, more voters oppose (43.4%) these provisions than support (38.8%) them, while 17.8 don’t know how they feel. While 28.2% of voters “strongly oppose” these elements of the bill, just 18.0% “strongly support” them.
Democrats are far more likely to support than oppose the measures (63.2%-19.2%). In contrast, Republicans (62.9%-22.8%) and Independents (50.6%-26.8%) are more prone to voice opposition. Pluralities of Hispanics (43.8%-35.4%), African-Americans (54.8%-23.5%), and Asians (41.4%-40.7%) support the provisions. Among Whites, opposition (49.3%) topped support (34.8%)
This survey of 1,000 general election voters nationwide was conducted June 16th through June 20th. All interviews were conducted online; survey invitations were distributed randomly within predetermined geographic units. These units were structured to correlate with actual voter turnout in the general election. This poll of 1,000 general election voters has an accuracy of +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence interval.