OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
On the heels of an assault on election integrity efforts by the Biden administration and Democrats more broadly, record numbers of voters are now demanding stricter voter identification measures in order to be able to cast ballots as well as broad reforms in all 50 states.
According to new polling data seen on Monday by the Washington Examiner’s “Secrets” column, 84 percent of Americans want voter ID, attributing to large numbers of black and Hispanic voters who are behind the dramatic increase in support as the country eases into the 2022 midterm election cycle.
The outlet notes further:
The polling from the Honest Elections Project for two groups, the American Legislative Exchange Council and the National Conference of State Legislatures, is the latest to show that the push by Biden and his media allies has fallen flat, especially among minorities who the president claimed would be hurt by election integrity laws passed in states such as Georgia.
“Photo ID laws are a case in point: Support for photo ID laws is seven points higher than a year ago. Left-wing special interests and politicians like President Biden carried out an intense, often misleading, a campaign meant to stir opposition to policies like strong voter ID. Their efforts have had the opposite effect. More people than ever — including most black and Hispanic voters — back photo ID laws,” said the polling analysis provided to Secrets.
In addition, the memo to the organizations noted support for a ban on outside funding of elections, a measure that would have barred Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg from pouring more than $400 million of his own money into efforts that reportedly boosted primarily Democratic turnout in heavily blue areas of the country in 2020.
The issues raised in the poll mirror a number of recent state election integrity debates in state legislatures lamented by Democrats.
Leftists complain that cleaning up voter registration lists, curbing mail-in voting, and requiring voters to present an ID allegedly undermine minority voting, “though it is unclear how,” the Examiner’s Paul Beddard wrote.
In fact, voters have repeatedly stated in clear terms that making elections much more secure is a priority to them, and the latest poll indicates that remains the case:
- In addition to the 84% support for identification laws, 75% would vote for a ballot initiative requiring everyone to show photo ID in person or write an ID number on a mail ballot. And 75% said it would be “easy” to write an ID number on a ballot.
- Over 60% want a ban on vote trafficking, or allowing people to bundle votes and drop them in boxes.
- Most want clearer mail-in voting, which exploded during the COVID crisis. The survey said that 80% of voters believe that the convenience of mail voting must be balanced with adequate protections against fraud.
- Over half, 52%, want private funding of elections “cut off.”
- Eight in 10 want states to clean up voter roles and eliminate duplicate names, dead voters, and outdated and inaccurate information.
- Nearly all want voting by foreign citizens banned. Only 9% of voters think that noncitizens should be able to vote. Noncitizen voting was rejected by 75% of Hispanic voters and 69% of black voters, as well as 77% of Democrats and 83% of independents.
“It is time to stop debating election integrity laws and start enacting them in every state. Americans want elections they can trust, and for the vast majority of voters (85%) protecting voting rights means not just ensuring access but also protecting the security of the voting system as a whole,” said the analysis.
In January, another poll found that blacks heavily favor enhanced voter ID laws, running contrary to Democrats’ claims that such laws harm minority voters.
During a speech to commemorate civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luthur King’s birthday, Biden declared to the country that voter ID laws are an “assault on our freedom to vote,” especially for minorities.
However, a few days before he spoke, a survey out of Michigan revealed that three-fourths of those surveyed agreed with voter ID requirements, including 79 percent of black respondents.
“A majority of African Americans in Michigan support voter ID because they understand it is the surest way to validate a voter’s identification,” Christopher Arps, president of Americans for Citizen Voting, the group that commissioned the poll, said in a statement. “People who look like me know how important the vote is, and we want to protect it.”
