Older Iowa Voters Approve of Absentee Voting

Iowa voters age 50 and older believe spreading COVID-19 is a greater threat than voter fraud and favor officeholders who support increasing or maintaining access to absentee voting, according to a recent survey commissioned by AARP.

Most registered voters approved of the Iowa Secretary of State's decision to mail absentee ballot applications to all registered voters for the June primary, the survey found, and if the pandemic is still a concern in November, the majority would support the state taking this action again.

Over half of Iowa voters age 50 and older who go to polling places believe that spreading COVID-19 is a greater risk than voter fraud from absentee ballots. Nearly half of the registered voters age 50 and older say they would prefer to submit an absentee ballot, either through the mail or by delivering it in person to the auditor's office in November.

Methodology

Selzer & Co. conducted telephone interviews with 804 Iowa registered voters age 50 and older between July 6–8, 2020. These data are weighted by age and congressional district. For more information, contact Kate Bridges at kbridges@aarp.org.