Poll: Most Americans support requiring photo I.D., proof of citizenship to vote

By Casey Harper
The Center Square

Americans – Democrats, Republicans and Independents – support both early voting policies as well as photo I.D. and proof of citizenship requirements for elections, according to a new poll.

Despite the ongoing divide between elected Republicans and Democrats over requiring photo I.D. to vote, a whopping 86% of Americans support it.

The poll comes just days from the presidential election with voting underway across the country.

Support varied by political party, with 98% of Republicans, 67% of Democrats, and 84% of Independents supporting requiring photo I.D. to vote.

Another 83% of Americans support “requiring people who are registering to vote for the first time to provide proof of citizenship.” By party, 96% of Republicans, 66% of Democrats and 84% of Independents agree.

Voter I.D. hits at the intersection of Republicans concerns about election integrity and illegal immigration, which has soared in recent years.

Many Republicans argue that illegal immigrant voting is a major issue and that those voters trend toward Democratic candidates.

Some Democrats have pushed back on voter I.D. efforts, saying they are an attempt to suppress or discourage certain groups from voting and that illegal immigrants are not allowed to vote. Republicans have pushed back saying Democrat officials have found workarounds to not enforce restrictions on illegal immigrants voting.

“Partisans’ views of most of the election law policies are generally stable; however, Democrats’ and Republicans’ opinions have each shifted significantly on one of them,” Gallup said. “Democrats are now 14 points more likely than they were in 2022 to support requiring photo identification to vote, and Republicans’ current 57% support for early voting – while not significantly different from 2022 – is down from 74% in a 2016 survey.”

The poll asked about other election policies as well:

“Smaller majorities of Americans – 60% each – favor automatic voter registration, whereby citizens are registered when they do business with state agencies such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, and sending absentee ballot applications to all eligible voters,” Gallup said. “In contrast, majorities of Americans oppose removing people from voter registration lists if they haven’t voted in any elections in five years (64%) and limiting the number of drop boxes or locations for returning absentee ballots (58%).”

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