New poll: Majority of Americans doubtful November election will be fair, equal

Fifty-two percent of adults say they will vote early — with 19 percent saying they’d vote early in person and another 33 percent saying they will vote by mail. About a third of adults, 33 percent, say they will vote in person on election day and another 11 percent say they might not vote at all.

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There’s a stark difference in voting plans when broken down by party affiliation.

Fifty-four percent of adults who identify as Republican or lean that way say they will vote in person on Election Day.

Just 22 percent of Democrats and people who report that they lean-Democrat say the same. Democrats are much more likely to vote by mail — with 50 percent saying that’s their plan for November, versus just 18 percent of Republicans who say they’ll mail in their ballot.

A majority of adults also continue to favor changing election laws to allow everyone to vote by mail. Fifty-four percent of adults say they either strongly or somewhat favor changing laws to make vote-by-mail access universal, while 42 percent of adults say they somewhat or strongly oppose these changes.

The numbers are virtually unchanged from earlier in August, when 55 percent of adults said they strongly or somewhat favored allowing everyone to vote by mail, while 42 percent said they strongly or somewhat opposed it.

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Another 21 percent of Republicans say they’ll vote early in person and 21 percent of Democrats agree. Independents are much more likely to track with Democrats: 20 percent of them say they’ll vote in person on Election Day, 13 percent say they’ll vote early in person and 29 percent say they’ll vote by mail.

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According to a report after the 2016 election by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the share of voters who vote in person on Election Day has declined steadily over the past decade. Between 2004 and 2016, the number of Americans who voted early more than doubled from 10.2 million early ballots to 24.1 million ballots. In 2016, about four-in-10 people cast their ballots either through early voting, absentee voting or voting by mail.

However, a majority of Americans also remain doubtful that the November election will be conducted in a fair and equal way.

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Looking ahead to this November’s get-out-the-vote race, 81 percent of American adults say they are registered to vote where they live, while 10 percent say they are not. And the party breakdown shows parity on the issue. Eighty-eight percent of Republicans and Republican-leaners are registered to vote at their current address, while 87 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaners say the same.

Sixty percent of independents say they are registered to vote where they live while 21 percent of independents say they are not. Just 8 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaners and 7 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaners say they aren’t registered to vote.

While President Trump once again accepted his party’s nomination to be the Republican presidential nominee on Thursday, his approval rating among all Americans has remained consistent. In this week’s tracking poll, 44 percent of adults say they either strongly or somewhat approve of President Trump job performance, while 54 percent disapprove. That’s consistent with Trump’s job rating throughout the summer.