The Shorenstein Center

 

2/3 of Americans Unsure How to Vote By Mail

New survey finds widespread uncertainty about vote-by-mail rules and procedures, and support for making mail voting easier.

This report is part of the Shorenstein Center’s 2026 Voting Information Trends series.

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Research Initiatives

Focus Areas

Civic Information, Information Distribution, News Consumption & Engagement

A survey conducted by the Shorenstein Center and the Civic Health and Institutions Project (CHIP50) from September 12 through September 18, 2026 asked 4,708 US adults about their perceptions and knowledge of voting by mail in the 2026 midterm elections.

The resulting report identifies significant confusion about how voters can cast mail ballots in their own states. 

Only 34% of respondents correctly identified the mail-voting rules that apply in their state. Another 36% said they were unsure, while 30% selected an answer that did not match their state’s rules. 

Chart showing percentages of survey respondents who were uncertain or incorrect about their state's mail-in voting rules. 34% were correct, 30% were incorrect, and 36% responded they were unsure about the rules in their state.

Support for making mail voting easier also followed a strong partisan pattern: 79% of Democrats supported making mail voting easier, compared with 38% of Republicans. 

Despite sustained political debate over mail voting, most likely voters who had followed recent news about the issue said it had not changed their voting plans. Among those who had followed the news at least a little, 66% reported no change in how they planned to vote. 

Chart showing responses to "Has recent news about voting by mail changed how you plan to vote?" split by how closely respondents have been following news about mail voting. this chart excludes those who responded that they were not following the news closely "at all." Not Very Closely Following the News: 13% much less likely to vote by mail; 6% somewhat less likely; 74% no change in plans; 7% combined "somewhat more likely" and "much more likely" Somewhat Closely Following the News: 11% much less likely to vote by mail; 6% somewhat less likely; 64% no change in plans; 10% somewhat more likely; 8% much more likely Very Closely Following the News: 14% somewhat less likely to vote by mail; 4% somewhat less likely; 46% no change in plans; 9% somewhat more likely; 27% much more likely

 

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2026 Voting Information Trends Reports

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2026 Voting Information Trends

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