Most Americans, unlike Trump, want mail-in ballots for November if coronavirus threatens [View all]
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Most Americans, including a majority of Republicans, want the government to require mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 presidential election if the coronavirus outbreak still threatens the public this autumn, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
President Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election this year, has been trying with other Republicans to discourage efforts to expand voting by mail, saying it would increase the chance of voter fraud.
But the poll conducted on Monday and Tuesday found that 72% of all U.S. adults, including 79% of Democrats and 65% of Republicans, supported a requirement for mail-in ballots as a way to protect voters in case of a continued spread of the respiratory disease later this year.
The United States leads the world in coronavirus cases, with more than 385,000 infections. More than 11,900 people in the country have died. Public health measures to curb the pandemic have hammered the U.S. economy, with many businesses closing or scaling back while unemployment soars.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-poll-idUSKBN21P3G0