Poll: 83% Of Voters Want Ballots ‘Received By Election Day’

While the Supreme Court on Monday expressed skepticism about states accepting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, an overwhelming majority of voters have already decided against the practice, according to a recent poll conducted just days before the high court heard oral arguments in Watson v. RNC.

As The Federalist’s Shawn Fleetwood reported, Watson “deals with a challenge to a Mississippi law authorizing absentee ballots to be accepted up to five days after Election Day so long as they are postmarked before or on the day of the contest.”

A survey of 1,600 likely voters conducted on behalf of the Honest Elections Project earlier this month found that 93 percent of Republicans, 83 percent of Independents, and 74 percent of Democrats agree ballots “should be received by Election Day.” While overall, 83 percent of those surveyed agree with this deadline, a significant majority — 57 percent — “strongly agree.”

The survey also found that 60 percent of likely voters agree officials should not count mail-in ballots if they are “received after polls close on Election Day.” This includes 80 percent of Republicans and, although not a majority, a significant 42 percent of Democrats.

A majority of respondents indicated that counting ballots received after Election Day polls are closed “endanger[s] public trust in elections.” Sixty percent total, including 79 percent of Republicans and 44 percent of Democrats, think this practice “makes it easier to cheat” in elections. However, an overwhelming 90 percent of Republicans and 68 percent of Democrats say requiring ballots to be received “by the end of Election Day makes elections more secure.”

Fifty-nine percent of likely voters surveyed indicated they “would not trust” election results in which late-arriving ballots were counted, including 76 percent of Republicans. As the Honest Election Project noted, Democrats are “split” on whether they would trust results that include ballots received after Election Day, “showing deep bipartisan distrust.”

As Fleetwood reported, multiple conservative Supreme Court justices pushed back on or grilled Mississippi’s Solicitor General Scott Stewart during Monday’s oral arguments in Watson. For example, Justice Kavanaugh noted how accepting mail ballots after Election Day is not a practice supported by history. It “only became widespread … in more recent years,” and “the predominant approach was to require receipt by Election Day … until very recently,” he said.

Justice Samuel Alito highlighted how having “election month” or “months” rather than a day could leave the door open for fraud or end up damaging Americans’ confidence in the election process.

Honest Election Project Executive Director Jason Snead also noted such concerns, previously telling The Federalist “that watching ballots trickle in and margins shrink, and … watching winners become losers and losers become winners after an election is over” leaves the door open for fraud, destroyed public confidence, and deterred voting. He indicated Watson “is a real opportunity for the Supreme Court to enforce the rule of law and to bring good election practices at the same time.”

According to Ballotpedia, 14 states currently have laws that allow them to accept mail-in ballots after an election as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. The Supreme Court’s decision in Watson — determining whether a state law allowing the reception of late-arriving ballots is preempted by statutes establishing federal election days — is expected this summer.