Poll: 80 Percent See Voter ID as 'Important Security Measure'

A large majority of registered American voters (80%) back voter identification as "an important security measure," according to a new poll.

As Democrats and Republicans battle over election integrity measures in key battleground states and Congress, the Republican National Committee commissioned the Election Integrity Polling Project conducted by former White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway.

In a June poll of 29% identifying as registered Republican voters, including 71% non-Republicans (36% independents, 31% Democrats, and 4% other), 78% of these voters said they support a proposed voting plan with these five principles:

1. Presenting voter ID.
2. Signature verification.
3. Chain of custody controls.
4. Bipartisan election observers.
5. Cleaning up the voter rolls.

Those measures are large pieces of Republican-passed election integrity measures in key battleground states.

"Election integrity is very much on the minds of American voters right now," Conway told RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel on Wednesday. "Americans want to make sure that post-pandemic, we get voter integrity measures right, that they're fair to everyone, and that we don't use as an excuse measures that were very specific to a once-in-a-century pandemic."

Among the poll's other findings: 89% were in favor of "purging voter rolls" of dead voters or residents who have moved out of the voting locales.

"It's not just Republicans who are concerned about election integrity," the RNC stated in the release of the poll's findings. "Nearly two-thirds (63%) of all voters reported that the issue of election integrity was either their top issue or in their top three when deciding how to vote."

Voter ID and reviewing voter rolls are two key pieces of Republican-backed election integrity measures, but they are panned by Democrats as a power grab, voter suppression or a function of racism.

"When asked directly if voter ID laws are 'racist,' a majority disagreed," the statement noted, adding, "77% of all voters reject Democrats' claim that 'racism' is behind voting integrity laws, and believe one party uses it for political purposes, not for electoral progress."

"[Americans] want to make sure that voting is easy and it's accessible, but they also want to make sure that it's legal and it's transparent and that it's verifiable," Conway told McDaniel. "Why is the word verifiable important?

"Well, it's important because, is the voter-verified? Is the voter's ID verified? Is the voter's signature verified? This should not be a heavy lift. It should not be controversial that you want to make sure that the most sacrosanct principle in our United States Constitution, one person, one vote, is upheld for everyone."

Also, "there is tri-partisan agreement" that we need to make sure non-citizens do not vote, Conway added.

"The majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents all agree that non-citizens should not vote. People who are not registered to vote or qualified to vote should not vote," she said.

Other key findings of the Election Integrity Polling Project:

• 88% of all voters say states should not mail ballots to non-citizens and people who are not registered to vote.
• 87% of voters said they were against ballot harvesting.
• 71% of voters believe ballots should not be accepted after Election Day.
• 66% of voters think ballots should be counted as they are received in early voting so on Election Day the U.S. population knows who won. Only 18% of voters disagree.
• 53% believe special voting measures due to COVID-19 should be removed now that restrictions are lifting and most adults are vaccinated.

"In a desperate effort to push their federal takeover of elections, Democrats continue to lie to the American people," RNC Communications Director Danielle Álvarez wrote in a statement. "Democrats refuse to join Republicans in supporting common-sense policies like voter ID, because their sole agenda is more power and partisan control."

The Election Integrity Polling Project phone survey was conducted from June 8 to June 13 among 800 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

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