Voting was divided directly down party lines with all Democrat and Democrat-leaning senators supporting the bill, and all Republicans against it!
The bill was brought to vote in the wake of a tumultuous 2020 election and the nation divided on the perceptions of a “stolen election” or a legitimate Joe Biden victory over Donald Trump.
Democrats claim that the Act was a necessary legislation to combat voter suppression, while Republicans retort with assertions that the bill only allows for the far-right to perpetuate tactics that allow voter fraud to occur unchecked.
According to a poll conducted by Monmouth University, “Most Americans support easier, early voting despite GOP efforts to restrict it.” (The Independent)
The poll concludes that:
“A large majority (71%) of the public feels in-person early voting should generally be made easier. Just 16% say it should be made harder. Opinion is more divided on voting by mail. 50% say this should be made easier and 39% say it should be made harder. At the same time, fully 4 in 5 Americans (80%) support requiring voters to show photo identification in order to cast a ballot. Just 18% oppose this.
Easing in-person early voting access and requiring photo IDs both have bipartisan majority support. Approval of making early voting easier stands at 89% among Democrats, 68% among independents, and 56% among Republicans. Support for requiring a photo ID to vote stands at 62% among Democrats, 87% among independents, and 91% among Republicans. Only Democrats back making voting by mail easier to do, with 84% supporting this idea compared to just 40% of independents and 26% of Republicans.” (Monmouth University)
The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by telephone from June 9 to 14, 2021 with 810 adults in the United States. The question results in this release have a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points. The poll was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch, NJ.
