Americans want tougher fraud penalties for mail-in voting
Core finding
If they could make only one change to how mail-in voting works in their state, Americans lean toward enforcement first: 37% prefer increasing criminal penalties for submitting fraudulent ballots, ahead of any other single change, in a Verasight survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted March 6-16, 2026.
A quarter (25%) would rather have states notify voters of ballot problems so they can fix them before rejection, and 23% prefer requiring mail ballots to be received, rather than just postmarked, by Election Day. Providing more funding and training for election offices that process mail ballots draws the least support, at 16%.
Topline distribution
Americans want tougher fraud penalties for mail-in voting.
If your state could make one change to improve how mail-in voting works, which would you prefer?
n = 1,000 · Mar 6–16, 2026 · MoE ±3.6%
Methodology
Full methodology →| Mode | Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting |
|---|---|
| Population | US adults age 18+ |
| Field dates | Mar 6–16, 2026 |
| Base (unweighted) | 1,000 |
| Margin of error | ±3.6% |
| Module | Module 4: Identity, Politics, & Social Trust |
| Sponsor | Verasight |
| Weight variable | weight |
| Weighting targets | age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status |
Sources
- reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044
If your state could make one change to improve how mail-in voting works, which would you prefer?
Cite this question
Verasight Client Omnibus Survey #2026-044, fielded March 6-16, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.6%.