A new Rasmussen Reports survey found that 51 percent of likely U.S. voters believe all ballots should be counted within one day of polls closing.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A majority of likely U.S. voters say election officials should finish counting ballots within 24 hours after polls close, according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey.
The finding comes amid continued scrutiny of delayed election results, including recent California races in which voters waited days, and in some cases a full week, to learn which candidates would advance to the general election.
The Rasmussen Reports survey found that 51% of likely voters said one day is enough time to count all ballots after polls close. Another 19% said several days is sufficient, while 26% said vote counting should take as long as necessary.
The issue has drawn renewed attention following California’s recent election process. Republican Steve Hilton, for example, did not learn until one week after polls closed that he would face former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in the race for governor.
Lengthy ballot-counting timelines have been a recurring point of political controversy for decades. Delays in Florida during the 2000 presidential election became central to a legal battle that reached the U.S. Supreme Court and ultimately helped determine the outcome of the race.
The issue became even more prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when mail-in voting expanded sharply in several states. Some states took days to complete ballot counting, and those delays later became part of President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud.
The Rasmussen survey was conducted June 8-10 among 1,062 likely U.S. voters. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The results show that a majority of likely voters favor a firm and rapid ballot-counting timeline, while about one-quarter prefer allowing election officials as much time as they say is needed to complete the process.
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