Majority of registered voters oppose U.S. election delay: Reuters/Ipsos
poll
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[August 05, 2020]
By Chris Kahn
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two thirds of
registered American voters oppose delaying the Nov. 3 presidential
election due to the coronavirus pandemic, and more than half think
President Donald Trump floated the idea of postponing it last week to
help himself politically, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling released on
Wednesday.
The national public opinion poll was conducted from July 31 to Aug. 4,
shortly after Trump said without providing evidence that a surge in
mail-in voting would lead to widespread voter fraud and suggested the
election be delayed. The idea was immediately rejected by Democrats and
Republicans in Congress, who have sole authority to change the election
date.
Most Americans also rejected the suggestion. The poll showed 66% of
registered voters oppose postponing the November vote, including 8 out
of 10 Democrats and 5 in 10 Republicans.
Another 23% of registered voters - mostly Republicans - supported an
election delay and 11% said they were not sure.
A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Aug. 3-4 found that Democratic
candidate Joe Biden leads Trump by 10 percentage points in support among
registered voters, less than 100 days before the presidential election.
A plurality, 44%, believe Biden would be better than Trump at steering
the nation's response to the pandemic.
Asked why they thought Trump wanted to postpone the election, 54% of
registered voters suggested they thought Trump was trying to help
himself get re-elected. Some 42% said Trump "thinks he will have a
better chance of winning if the election is postponed" and 12% said the
president "wants to distract the country from the pandemic and the
economy."
Another 21% said they thought Trump was concerned about voter fraud, and
10% said Trump "wants to protect Americans from the spread of
coronavirus at polling locations."
Americans were split along party lines over Trump's intentions, with
Democrats largely suspecting the president of trying to benefit himself
politically and Republicans largely agreeing with Trump's rationale of
protecting the integrity of American elections.
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A voter places their ballot in a curbside ballot drop box to help
prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during the
Maryland U.S. presidential primary election as other voters stand in
a long line waiting to cast their votes in College Park, Maryland,
U.S., June 2, 2020. REUTERS/Jim Bourg
Some legal experts warned that Trump's repeated attacks could
undermine his supporters' faith in the election process and could
make it harder for them to accept the results should he lose.
The coronavirus pandemic, which has infected millions of Americans
and killed more than 155,000, has dramatically transformed the U.S.
political landscape.
Concerns about the virus have rattled many voters who had planned on
casting their ballots in person and have led to an unprecedented
volume of mail-in ballots during the presidential nominating
contests this year. Criticism of his pandemic response has also cut
into Trump's popularity with the American people.
About 57% of Americans said they disapproved of the way Trump was
dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, while 38% approved, according to
the Aug. 3-4 poll.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout
the United States. The July 31-Aug. 3 poll gathered responses from
882 registered voters, while another 964 registered voters responded
in a separate Aug. 3-4 poll. The surveys have a credibility
interval, a measure of precision, of plus or minus 4 percentage
points.
(Reporting by Chris Kahn, Editing by Soyoung Kim and David Gregorio)
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