By wide margin, Americans oppose Trump’s handling of elections, poll finds – Democracy Docket
By Jim Saksa
In a new poll, Americans give President Donald Trump a -20 net approval rating on “elections and democracy,” as he continues to pitch restricting the vote as a path to electoral victory in November.
The result, from a Strength in Numbers/Verasight poll published Wednesday, undercuts the administration’s claims that adding restrictions to the voting process, like voter ID and proof of citizenship requirement, is popular.
Trump’s SAVE America Act, which would require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship when they register and identification when they cast their ballots, has stalled in the Senate despite Trump’s incessant cheerleading.
The Senate’s inability to pass the measure has sparked round after round of Republican infighting, with Trump sniping at Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) for refusing to end the filibuster to push the bill into law.
Meanwhile, Trump’s Department of Justice continues to press the courts to allow his executive order attacking mail voting, which is currently blocked by a nationwide injunction.
The poll, conducted Aug. 14-19, found 37% of adults approve of Trump’s overall performance, while 60% disapprove. Moreover, 49% strongly disapprove, while just 17% strongly approve — a 32-point gap that has grown lately.
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The SAVE America Act’s backers have touted positive polling data to support their claims that the voters are clamoring for strict voter ID laws. A PBS News/NPR/Marist in April, for example, found 74% of American adults supported voter ID.
But a July Strength in Numbers/Verasight poll found that the more voters heard about the SAVE America Act, the more they soured on it. Other polls have shown that as voters come to understand that documentary proof of citizenship would prevent many otherwise eligible voters from casting ballots — all nominally to block but a handful of illegal votes — net support for the bill flips to net opposition.
When asked which party they trust on the issues, Democrats lead the Republicans by 10 points on elections and democracy in the August survey. That figure hasn’t shifted significantly since Strength in Numbers/Verasight started tracking it in the spring.
The Strength in Numbers/Verasight poll is consistent with other recent surveys that have pegged Trump’s ratings at historic lows.
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