More than 20% of voters who used mail-in ballots in 2020 admit they participated in at least one form of election fraud, according to a new poll whose results were released Tuesday by Rasmussen Reports and the Heartland Institute.
The telephone and online survey found that 21% of likely U.S. voters who voted by absentee or mail-in ballot in the 2020 election say they filled out a ballot, in part or in full, on behalf of a friend or family member, such as a spouse or child, while 78% say they didn’t. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Thirty percent of those surveyed said they voted by absentee or mail-in ballot in the 2020 election. Nineteen percent of those who cast mail-in votes say a friend or family member filled out their ballot, in part or in full, on their behalf. Seventeen percent of the mail-in voters reported that in the 2020 election, they cast a ballot in a state where they were no longer a permanent resident. All of these practices are illegal, the Heartland Institute noted.
According to the Associated Press, more than 43 percent of 2020 voters cast ballots by mail, the highest percentage in history.
The poll reveals that 10% of all respondents — not just those who said they voted by mail — know “a friend, family member, co-worker, or other acquaintance who has admitted … that he or she cast a mail-in ballot in 2020 in a state other than his or her state of permanent residence.”
Eight percent of all who responded said “a friend, family member, or organization, such as a political party” offered to “pay” or give them a “reward” for agreeing to vote in the 2020 election.
“The results of this survey are nothing short of stunning,” said Justin Haskins, director of the Socialism Research Center at the Heartland Institute. “For the past three years, Americans have repeatedly been told that the 2020 election was the most secure in history. But if this poll’s findings are reflective of reality, the exact opposite is true. This conclusion isn’t based on conspiracy theories or suspect evidence, but rather from the responses made directly by the voters themselves.”
A democratic republic cannot survive if election laws allow voters to commit fraud easily, Haskins said, adding “that’s exactly what occurred during the 2020 election. Although some progress has been made in more than a dozen states since the conclusion of the 2020 election, much more work is needed in most regions of the United States. If America’s election laws do not improve soon, voters and politicians will continue to question the truthfulness and fairness of all future elections.”
Read more about this poll at the Heartland Institute at this link or at Rasmussen Reports at this link.
