Survey: Most Americans Back Requiring Government-Issued Photo ID to Vote

Empty voting booths are seen in Flint, Michigan at the Berston Fieldhouse polling place on
SETH HERALD/AFP via Getty Images

Most Americans back requiring a government-issued photo identification to vote, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey released Friday found.

The survey found “almost no partisan divide” in regard to requiring voters to present a government-issued ID to vote, with 79 percent supporting that basic election integrity safeguard. An overwhelming majority of Republicans, 94 percent, support that measure, as do 83 percent of independents and 57 percent of Democrats.

The survey also asked respondents about their priority in voting laws, with 56 percent saying “making sure that everyone who wants to vote can do so” is more of a concern, while 41 percent prioritized “making sure that no one votes who are not eligible.

Unlike the majority agreement on voter ID, there is a “notable partisan difference” on this issue:

85% of Democrats and 52% of independents favor the goal of access for all those who want to vote, and 72% of Republicans support the goal of ensuring that no one votes who is not eligible to do so.

The survey, taken June 22-June 29, 2021, among 1,115 adults, has a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percent.

It comes as Democrats ramp up their calls to end the filibuster, which they say is barring their radical-left agenda to overhaul the U.S. election system via H.R. 1, or the “For the People Act,” which would greatly compromise a state’s ability to implement basic election integrity measures, such as voter ID.

“It can’t be made any clearer: Black, brown, and Indigenous people are going to lose their ability to vote for the change that we need to literally save our lives if the Senate doesn’t abolish the filibuster and pass our agenda,” Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) said this week, claiming that lives are “on the line”:

Despite the widespread Democrat narrative, recent surveys continue to show that a majority of Americans support basic election integrity measures, such as voter ID. That includes a majority of black and Hispanic voters.

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