Arizona Voters Reject Election Manipulation, Support Nonpartisan Election Administration and Improved Voter Access

 

To better understand Arizona voters’ views on election processes and administration, Noble Predictive Insights conducted a statewide survey of general election voters on behalf of the Secure Democracy Foundation. Their findings, summarized below, show broad consensus around trust in election results, nonpartisan election administration, and voter access issues.

Arizona voters have confidence in the state’s election results

The poll found the vast majority of Arizona voters are confident in election results. Nearly seven in 10 (69%) likely voters are confident that the election results in Arizona will be accurate for the upcoming 2024 presidential election. Additionally, 66% of likely voters reported they are confident in the 2022 gubernatorial election results and 67% are confident in the 2020 presidential election results in Arizona.

Arizona voters reject efforts to manipulate election processes and support nonpartisan election administration

Arizona voters resoundingly oppose efforts to allow state lawmakers to overturn election results, according to the poll. Nearly 8 in 10 (78%) likely Arizona voters - including 71% of Republicans, 72% of Independents, and 81% of Democrats - believe the outcome of elections should be determined by local election officials counting votes and state officials declaring the winner based on those vote counts, while only 10% said the state legislature should be able to override the final vote count verified by local election officials. 

Additionally, the poll found Arizona voters only trust local election officials to handle and inspect their ballot, which often contains sensitive personal information. 69% of Arizona voters believe only state or local officials should be able to inspect their ballot – not members of the public, including 67% of Republicans, 61% of Independents, and 72% of Democrats. Likewise, the poll found 57% of likely Arizona voters oppose allowing ballots to be available for online inspection by members of the public. Even when asked if respondents would support public ballot inspection if their private information was redacted, members of the public promised not to alter or misrepresent their vote, or if the inspection was done in person under supervision, a majority of voters still opposed making ballots public for inspection. 

The poll also found Arizonans are united when it comes to professionalism in election audits. 91% of Arizona likely voters agree that election audits should be conducted only by experienced, non-partisan professionals and 71% agree that Arizona’s partisan review of the 2020 election results from Maricopa County by CyberNinjas was costly and embarrassing for the state, including 63% of Republicans, 66% of Independents, and and 74% of Democrats.

Finally, Arizona voters also reject the disinformation campaign against the Electronic Registration Information Center, or “ERIC” – a bipartisan, multi-state program that helps states maintain accurate voter registration records, provide voter registration info to eligible voters, and prevent potential illegal voting. The poll found that 72% of likely Arizona voters agree the state should remain a member of ERIC, including 60% of Republicans, 63% Independents, and 82% of Democrats, while only 9% believe Arizona should leave ERIC.

Arizona voters favor secure tabulation equipment over hand counts

The poll also found a significant majority of Arizona voters oppose efforts to hand count ballots. 73% of likely Arizona voters agreed that mandating that every ballot is hand counted would open the door for human error or corruption, while 61% agreed hand counts would be too costly for taxpayers. Ultimately, the poll found 77% of Arizona likely voters agreed that allowing secure tabulation equipment provides a quicker and more accurate result than a hand count, including 73% of Republicans, 71% of Independents, and 81% of Democrats.

Arizona voters support expansive early voting and vote by mail access

Arizona voters support several policy issues to streamline and improve the state’s early voting and vote by mail systems, including:

  • Arizona voters want flexibility for mail ballot return deadlines: 73% of likely Arizona voters believe mail ballots returned or posted by the voter by Election Day should be counted, including 66% of Republicans, 67% of Independents, and 80% of Democrats. Only 26% think that any mail ballot should be received at least three days before Election Day for it to be counted.

  • Majority support streamlining voter identification process for in-person early voting: 57% of likely Arizona voters support allowing election officials to forego signature matching if the voter already verified their identity by showing a valid ID when returning their ballot in person or when voting early in person. This issue is supported by a majority of Republicans (51%) and Democrats (63%), as well as a plurality of Independents (48%).

  • Arizona voters support secure drop boxes to return their mail ballots: 71% of likely Arizona voters support the continued use of secure and convenient drop box locations to drop off early voting ballots, 24 hours per day, including 54% of Republicans, 64% of Independents, and 87% of Democrats.

Majority want to keep the ballot cure window the same or expand it: 56% of likely Arizona voters want to maintain or increase existing cure opportunities, where voters can fix simple mistakes on their early ballots - for the general election. This issue wins support across the political spectrum, with 50% of Republicans, 53% of Independents, and 60% of Democrats in agreement.

Arizona voters support other measures to improve voter access 

The poll also found a majority of Arizona voters united on several other voter access issues, including:

  • Notice before voter registration is canceled: 85% of likely Arizona voters agree that a voter should receive official notice from local officials before their voter registration is canceled for any reason, including 80% of Republicans, 76% of Independents, and 88% of Democrats.

  • Restoring voting eligibility to people with prior felony convictions: 62% agree that people with a past felony conviction should have their voting eligibility automatically restored once they are released from prison and have returned to their communities. This issue receives support across the political spectrum, with 55% of Republicans, 62% of Independents, and 71% of Democrats in agreement.

  • Having paid time off to vote: 68% support Arizona voters having up to 5 hours paid time off to cast their vote early or on Election Day, including 60% of Republicans, 62% of Independents, and 79% of Democrats.

  • Using countywide voter centers to cast ballots: 55% believe a voter should be able to cast their ballot at a voter center anywhere in their county, while only 38% believe voters should only be able to vote at their local precinct. 

Methodology

These results are from a Noble Predictive Insights poll, conducted between November 14-20, 2023. The poll is based on online surveys of 1,201 registered voters and 1,038 likely voters in Arizona with an MoE of ±2.83%. The sample demographics were weighted to accurately reflect gender, region, age, ethnicity, party affiliation, and educational attainment based on the most recent U.S. Census estimates and an updated voter file. This survey was commissioned by Secure Democracy Foundation.


About Secure Democracy Foundation

Secure Democracy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that produces research and analysis focused on voting and elections. We work to educate the public on how our election systems are secure and trustworthy.