Likely voters throughout the country say the surge of coronavirus makes it even more important to vote by mail in November, with 64 percent of Americans and 70 percent of New Jerseyeans supporting the provision, according to a new national survey led by researchers from Rutgers University–New Brunswick, Northeastern, Harvard, and Northwestern Universities.
The survey, published by The COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Policy Preferences Across States, also reveals that 66 percent of people who plan to vote support giving every American the right to vote by mail in November. Twenty-two percent oppose the idea.
“Overall, a majority of Americans support giving every eligible voter the right to cast a ballot by mail,” said coauthor Katherine Ognyanova, an assistant professor of communication at Rutgers’ School of Communication and Information. “Health concerns, crowded polling stations and long wait times will likely dissuade many people from voting in person this November.”
The researchers surveyed 19,052 people across all 50 states plus the District of Columbia from July 10 to July 26, polling participants on their support for voting by mail, and likelihood to vote by absentee or mail-in ballot this November.
Forty-one percent of respondents said they were “very likely” and 23 percent said they were “somewhat likely” to vote by mail in November.