Poll: 79% of voters support vote at home

What would our election look like if half of regular voters simply didn’t show up? 

Facing a serious health crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, 50% of voters in a new poll from the Unite America Institute and Citizen Data reported that they would be less likely to vote in person if coronavirus was still a health concern in November -- including 27% of voters who said they definitely would not vote. 

The poll, fielded between April 2nd and April 3rd 2020, surveyed 600 likely voters in Ohio to understand how the current health climate would impact voter turnout, and how voters on both sides of the aisle feel about vote at home election systems. 

Turns out, an overwhelming, bipartisan majority of voters support having options to vote at home: 79% of respondents said they support sending all voters a postage prepaid mail-in ballot for the November election, including 58% of those who consider themselves very conservative, and 67% of all Republican voters. 

81% of voters said they would support sending all voters an absentee ballot request form, and 44% of voters said they would be more likely to vote if they could request an absentee ballot online. 

In other words, voters don’t want to have to choose between their health and their right to vote. 

Vote at home has rapidly become the solution of choice for election officials looking to keep voters safe while amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Six states have updated their existing absentee ballot programs to allow more voters to vote from home for their 2020 primary elections. Georgia, for instance, will be sending all voters absentee ballot request forms. West Virginia will allow all voters to use coronavirus as an excuse to get an absentee ballot. Across the country, states have seen a surge of requests for absentee ballots as voters seek to maintain social distance while voting. 

Five states use vote at home systems for all elections. 

Last week, Unite America released a white paper on vote at home. 

Ohio Secretary of State, Frank LaRose ( R ) has long been a proponent of expanding access to absentee ballots. 

Vote at home is a common sense reform that ensures the integrity and security of our elections, while keeping voters safe. 

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Poll by Citizen Data; 4/2-4/3/2020 N= 635; MOE = 3.9%