A Supermajority of Voters Support the Freedom to Vote Act
By Evangel Penumaka and Isa Alomran
Last week, Senate Democrats introduced the Freedom to Vote Act, legislation which would implement comprehensive reforms to protect voting rights, combat election sabotage, ensure fair representation in congressional redistricting, and limit the influence of money in politics. This new bill retains many of the main provisions of the For the People Act, the House voting rights bill. It sets national standards for early voting periods, mail-in voting, and various forms of voter registration, as well as measures for campaign finance transparency and fair districting. The new bill also incorporates new measures to protect local election officials from partisan interference, and to protect voters from forms of voter intimidation.
To measure voter sentiments around these reforms, Data for Progress surveyed 1,311 likely voters nationally between September 17-20, 2021. We find that a supermajority of voters overwhelmingly support the Freedom to Vote Act and back its key reforms.
First, we presented voters with a short description of the Freedom to Vote Act before asking their support or opposition to the bill. We find that overall, 70% of likely voters support the Freedom to Vote Act. Majority support for this proposal extends across party lines. Eighty-five percent of self-identified Democrats support this proposal, while self-identified Independents and Republicans support this proposal by a +44-point margin and a +23-point margin, respectively.
Next, we asked voters whether they support or oppose the different provisions that would be included in the Freedom to Vote Act. We find that, by and large, likely voters support all of the provisions in the bill: the least popular of these provisions still enjoys 60 percent support among all likely voters.
The elements of the bill that would protect against election sabotage or interference are overwhelmingly popular. Provisions to increase penalties for voter intimidation, protect local election officials from harassment and interference, and require election officials to conduct post-election audits to preserve election records are supported by over 80 percent of voters, while creating standards for handling election equipment is supported by 79 percent of voters. Lastly, preventing state lawmakers from overturning elections is supported by 66 percent of likely voters. Similarly to our previous polling on the For the People Act, limiting the influence of money in politics is also largely popular among voters. Requiring PACs and “dark money” groups to disclose donor names, for example, enjoys 73 percent support among likely voters.
Voters also back reforms to prevent gerrymandering and improve voter-registration policies. Voters support requiring states to follow national redistricting standards by a +56 point margin,, and support giving courts the power to enforce national redistricting standards by +44 points. Similarly, dedicating 15 days of early voting before election day had a +45-point margin of support, while providing online, automatic, and same-day voter registration had a +40-point margin of support. Lastly, expanded access to the ballot box also holds the support of a majority of voters: By margins of +36 points and +27 points respectively, voters support making Election Day a federal holiday and giving every voter the opportunity to vote by mail.
Democrats face a steep challenge in the Senate to overcome the 60 vote threshold and pass the Freedom to Vote Act. However, our polling on voting rights has been clear: voters want to see reforms that protect the freedom to vote and that safeguard our electoral process, ranging from expanding access to the ballot box to protecting local election officials from any partisan interference.
Evangel Penumaka (@evangelpenumaka) is a senior analyst at Data for Progress.
Isa Alomran is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.
Methodology
From September 17 to 20, 2021, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,311 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.