U.S. Democracy

The share of Americans voting by mail has risen in recent presidential election cycles, but there is variation from one state to another.

Overall, 70% of U.S. adults favor allowing any voter to vote by mail if they want to.

Nearly seven-in-ten registered voters say postponing state primary elections has been a necessary step to address the coronavirus outbreak.

40% of U.S. adults prefer to keep the current system in which the candidate who receives the most Electoral College vote wins the election.

Key quotes from a Pew Research Center canvassing of experts about the effect of technology on democracy.

About half the experts we canvassed predict humans' use of technology will weaken democracy by 2030, while a third expect technology will strengthen it as reformers fight back against democracy's foes.

Americans who closely follow political news are more likely to have confidence that the public will accept election results. And that's true across party boundaries.

After months of campaigning, debating, polling and fundraising, Democratic presidential candidates face their first real-world test Feb. 3.

Voters approached the 2018 midterm elections with some trepidation about the voting process and many had concerns that U.S. election systems may be hacked. After the election, however, most say it was “very easy” to vote and confidence in election security has increased.