Our research below provides messaging guidance for progressives to win key policy debates.
More than one in ten Americans report already casting ballots in this year’s election while those who haven’t split between voting by mail or in-person on Election Day; the public’s top concerns about the election are Trump not accepting the results and trying to stop votes from being counted.
Americans continue to believe the “worst is yet to come” with the coronavirus pandemic and expect we may not have presidential election results quickly.
Less than two in five Americans support the Senate considering Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court before the election, and express deep concern about the ACA and reproductive rights before the Court; a growing majority think it will take longer than the day after the election to know who won the presidency, and nine in ten Americans agree it is the most important election of their lifetimes.
Americans are split on who they think will win in November at a time when many are concerned about the potential of a long count, voter supression, and foreign interference among other potential election-related issues.
Some feel school reopenings are going well but most expect schools will have to close at some point due to an outbreak.
While support for reopening K-12 schools has ticked up in recent weeks, two-thirds of the public continue to say they are more on the “cautious” side of the reopening debate; three out of four Americans support fully funding the USPS while the share who plan to vote by mail has declined in recent weeks.
Americans view the USPS situation as unresolved, with many believing that Trump opposes funding the USPS because he thinks it will help him with re-election.
With Biden voters disproportionately likely to say they’ll vote by mail, and Trump voters more likely to say they’ll vote in-person, the public is aware that this year’s election results are unlikely to be final as of election night.
A vast majority of Americans oppose delaying the election; many say Trump’s recent posts on social media are designed to sow division and chaos.
Americans have conflicting views when it comes to the economy, but solidly support enacting measures to ensure “safe voting” in future elections.
Trump’s behavior at press conferences continues to give the public a negative impression of his handling of the pandemic and think he should leave the briefings to health experts; Americans blame the president on testing and PPE shortages, while reporting broad support for expanding vote-by-mail this November.
