Politico Poll: Electoral Count Act Needs Reforms, Voters Agree

Most voters agree that the 19th-century Electoral Count Act, which former President Donald Trump tried to use on Jan. 6, 2021, in the congressional count of the Electoral College's vote for President Joe Biden, should be changed to clarify the vice-president's role in the process, according to a new poll.

In the survey by Politico/Morning Consult released Wednesday, 55% of voters said they support reform for the act, including 68% of Democrats; 50% of independents; and 44% of Republicans saying change is needed. 

However, voters overall didn't list electoral reform as their top concern, or for that matter, any voting reforms, as 32% of the poll's respondents said "none of the above" when asked what their top priority was in voting reform after they were asked about the Electoral College vote count, expanding voting access in federal elections, or expanding the oversight into state changes on voting laws. 

When the respondents were asked about the core change for the Electoral Count Act, which would be to clarify whether a vice president's role in certifying the presidential election results is ceremonial or if they have the power to reject state-certified electoral votes, and if the law should be changed so that a vice president can't reject the votes, most favored reform, responding: 

• "Yes, definitely": 31%.
• "Yes, probably": 24%.
• "No, probably not": 10%.
• "No, definitely not": 10%.
• "Don’t know / No opinion": 25%.

Meanwhile, most of the core provisions of the Democrats' Freedom to Vote Act got majority support:

• Expanded access to early voting: 65% for, 23% against.
• Outlawing partisan gerrymandering: 64% for, 19% against.
• Making it illegal to prevent someone from registering to vote: 62% for, 24% against.
• Making Election Day a federal holiday: 61% for, 26% against.
• Expansions to same-day voter registration: 56% for, 30% against.
• Expanded access to mail-in voting: 55% for, 35% against.
• Allowing felons to vote: 54% for, 32% against.
• Expansions to automatic voter registration: 51% for, 33% against.

Voters were divided when asked if the Senate should require a majority or supermajority for passing legislation: 

• Senate bills should have at least 51 votes to pass: 40%
• Senate bills should have 60 votes to pass: 41%
• Don't know or no opinion: 19%. 

The online poll was conducted on Jan. 8-9, 2022, among a sample of 2,000 registered voters and carried a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. 

• Schumer Slams Suggestions of Reforming Electoral Count Act
• Dems Doubt McConnell Offer on Election Law Reform