Identifying likely voters is a challenge for pollsters in every election. This year, the coronavirus, mail voting and a surge in political engagement may make it even harder than usual. For now, Joe Biden’s nine-point lead across the critical battleground states is so significant that it is essentially invulnerable to […] Read more »
Democracy Maybe: Attitudes on Authoritarianism in America
The overwhelming majority of Americans embrace democracy. Consistently over the past three years, 87 percent of Americans say that a democratic political system is a good way of governing the country. At least 80 percent of Americans rate the importance of living in a democracy as an 8 or higher […] Read more »
What a Surge in Absentee Ballots Means for November 2020
The uncertainty caused by COVID-19 has resulted in a record number of people requesting to vote-by-mail. While increased access to mail ballots will stem the spread of the disease, waiting for ballots to arrive will delay the final result. Kentucky and New York are among the states that hosted primaries […] Read more »
The Politics of ‘Defund the Police’
Georgia’s Primary, George Floyd’s Funeral, and Congress’ Approach to Police Reform Politics with Amy Walter Read more »
Attitudes toward Voting Technology, 2012–2019
The use of computers to record and tabulate votes has been increasingly controversial since the passage of the Help America Vote Act in 2002. This paper traces that controversy, exploring whether the elite debate about technology has affected popular attitudes. The empirical focus here is public opinion about voting technologies […] Read more »
In Seeking to Hold Michigan, Trump Can Be His Own Worst Enemy
… Even before the coronavirus infected more than 56,000 residents and left it with the second-worst unemployment rate in the country, Michigan was shaping up to be the most difficult state for Mr. Trump to win a second time. Now his prospects there appear dimmer — in part because of […] Read more »