Despite Months of GOP Attacks, The For the People Act Remains Incredibly Popular
By Adam Eichen and Kevin Rissmiller
In one of the first national polls released since the GOP filibustered progress on the For the People Act (H.R. 1/S. 1), Data for Progress and Equal Citizens find widespread popularity for the Democrats’ fair elections bill. 62 percent of likely voters say they support the For the People Act, including 85 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of Independents.
These results mirror those from April’s Data for Progress and Equal Citizens polling, which also found 62 percent of likely voters support the For the People Act. This consistency in popularity suggests that the recent onslaught of GOP attacks against the bill have not undermined overall public appetite for a more accessible and fair democracy. Simply put, Americans want a democracy in which everyone has the freedom to vote and participate without discrimination and without intimidation.
New Data for Progress and Equal Citizens polling also finds significant support for the For the People Act’s optional small-donor matching program intended to diversify the donor pool and reduce the influence of big money in elections. Under this matching program, congressional candidates who reject large donations are eligible to have small donations under $200 matched at a rate of 6-to-1. The program would be financed by penalties on corporate law breakers and wealthy tax code violators.
Overall, 57 percent of likely voters say they support the bill’s small donor matching program, including 81 percent of Democrats and 49 percent of Independents. This support again mimics previous Data for Progress and Equal Citizens polling from April, suggesting that GOP misinformation has not changed the overall popularity of public financing.
Experts warn that failure to pass the For the People Act would be catastrophic. Without federal action, restrictive voting laws will only grow more aggressive, partisan gerrymandering will render Congressional elections uncompetitive and empower right wing extremists, and big donors will continue to have outsized influence in elections and on the political agenda. Today’s terrible Supreme Court decisions in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee and Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta have only raised the stakes further. Fortunately, Senate Democrats have pledged to continue the fight for the For the People Act over the next few weeks.
This new polling should embolden Democrats to do whatever is necessary — including reforming or eliminating the filibuster — to pass the For the People Act. Americans consistently and overwhelmingly support the bill, and a minority of senators, representing tens of millions fewer Americans, should not be able to thwart its progress.
Adam Eichen (@AdamEichen) is Executive Director of Equal Citizens (@EqualCitizensUS).
Kevin Rissmiller is a Research Fellow at Equal Citizens (@EqualCitizensUS).
Methodology:
From June 22 to 24, 2021, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,206 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.