A majority of likely voters, including Democrats, back delaying the 2020 presidential election if the coronavirus pandemic flares up in November as some expect, according to a new survey.
In the latest Zogby Poll shared with Secrets, 59% favor a delay versus 41% who don’t.
Among partisans, 53% of Democrats would suspend the election amid a second virus crisis, as would 69% of Republicans.
Pollster Jonathan Zogby, of Zogby Analytics, put the question into the field as stories were swirling about the issue. Some news outlets said that likely Democratic nominee Joe Biden believed President Trump planned to use the virus fear to put off the election until the political environment was better for him.
Yesterday, in his Rose Garden virus task force briefing, the president flicked off the concerns.
“I never even thought of changing the date of the election. Why would I do that? November 3rd. It’s a good number. No, I look forward to that election,” Trump said, adding, “That was just made-up propaganda.”
Zogby noticed the slight differences among groups, such as men and women, younger and older voters, to suggest that some are more eager to vote even if the crisis worsens, a bad sign for Trump.
“Two important demographics that could positively impact the 2020 presidential election for the Democratic Party are younger voters aged 18-29 and women. It’s possible their turnout could increase at the polls as a referendum on President Trump and his handling of the pandemic,” he said in his survey analysis.
But older voters, typically a pro-Trump group, are less concerned. “Could the stubbornness of older voters play to Trump’s advantage if we have an election and another outbreak of COVID-19? A majority of older voters aged 55+ were not OK with suspending the presidential election in November,” said Zogby.
