A majority of Democrats and non-white voters support requiring voters to present photo identification in order to cast a ballot, according to a Monmouth University Polling Institute survey released on Monday.
The survey asked respondents whether “in general” they “support or oppose requiring voters to show a photo ID in order to vote.” Among respondents, 62 percent of Democrats said they support requiring photo ID, while the number rose to 87 percent among Independents and 91 percent among Republicans.
Additionally, 84 percent of non-white respondents said they supported requiring photo ID, along with 77 percent of white respondents. People with college degrees were less likely to support ID requirements, with 69 percent of respondents with four years of college supporting compared with 85 percent of respondents with no degree.
The survey was conducted by phone from June 9th to 14th, and comprised 810 American adult respondents. The poll’s margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.
The results come as Democrats attempt to pass the “For the People Act,” legislation that would allow voters without photo ID to vote in federal elections as long as they present a sworn statement. Republicans have staunchly opposed the bill, in part because of the change in ID requirements.
A compromise outline put forward by Senator Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) would allow voters to use alternatives to photo I.D., such as utility bills, as a form of identification. Manchin received the backing of failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams last week.
However, Republicans have objected to Manchin’s compromise because the bill would federalize control of many aspects of election procedures.
“Unfortunately, what he does is what the larger bill . . . does, which is it takes the election system in this country and federalize it, so it’s a federal takeover of our election system,” Senator Rob Portman (R., Ohio) said on NBC on Sunday.
Source: National Review
