A new Fox News national survey reveals that roughly 8 in 10 registered voters support requiring photo identification to register to vote and to cast a ballot, even as Congress remains deadlocked over the SAVE America Act, which would mandate photo ID for federal elections. The poll, conducted July 17-20, 2026, shows 83% of voters favor photo ID for registration and 77% for voting, with support remaining consistently high—between 77% and 85%—in Fox News polling since 2011. The findings come after President Donald Trump delivered a primetime speech on July 16 urging Americans to contact lawmakers to support the legislation, which passed the U.S. House in February but is currently stalled in the Senate.
Support for voter ID laws spans the political spectrum, though intensity varies significantly by party affiliation. Nearly all Republicans think photo identification should be mandatory, with 96% backing it for registration and 95% for voting. About 8 in 10 independents agree, with 83% supporting it for registration and 77% for voting. Democrats are somewhat less supportive, with 72% favoring photo ID to register and 62% to vote. Outside party lines, most demographic groups favor the measure, including Hispanic voters (85% for registration, 76% for voting) and voters under age 30 (82% for registration, 75% for voting).
Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson, commented on the disconnect between public opinion and legislative action. «It’s a testament to gridlock and partisan polarization that no one seems capable of crafting a legislative compromise that can win passage of a bill featuring policies where large majorities support them,» Shaw said. The SAVE America Act, which would require photo identification to vote in federal elections, has become a focal point of debate over election security and access.
Nearly two-thirds of voters (64%) also favor universal mail-in voting, a figure that has held steady since September 2025. However, partisan divisions persist on this issue. Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats and 7 in 10 independents support mail-in voting, while about 6 in 10 Republicans oppose it. Despite majority backing, views are divided on the accuracy of mail-in ballots. A narrow 51% majority is confident that mail-in ballots will be counted accurately, while 48% disagree. Two-thirds of Democrats trust the accuracy of the count, while roughly 6 in 10 Republicans and independents think it is unlikely.
Most voters also support counting ballots that are postmarked by Election Day even if they arrive later, with 7 in 10 backing the practice. This includes large majorities of Democrats (88%) and independents (74%), while closer to half of Republicans oppose it (53%). In June, the Supreme Court upheld a Mississippi law permitting late mail-in ballots to be counted if postmarked by Election Day, a decision that has influenced the ongoing debate.
Looking toward the fall midterms, most voters are broadly confident that eligible voters will be able to vote (76%), though fewer feel sure that ineligible voters will be prevented from doing so (61%). Confidence in eligible ballot access is high across party lines, while Republicans are less certain than Democrats and independents about preventing ineligible voting. Regardless of voting method, more voters express confidence that votes will be counted accurately in their state (64%) than at the national level (53%). Democrats trust both, while more Republicans and independents are assured by state tallies.
By a 2-to-1 margin, more voters think state governments (68%) rather than the federal government (31%) should have election authority, a view shared across all major political groups. Overall, 6 in 10 are confident that the final vote count will be fair and accurate, even if completing the tally takes several days after Election Day. Roughly 7 in 10 Democrats are confident, while more than half of Republicans are not. Independents are divided, with 52% confident and 47% not.
The Fox News survey was conducted under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) and includes interviews with a sample of 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines and cellphones or completed the survey online after receiving a text. Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. The survey also includes an oversample of 200 voters aged 18-29, bringing the sample size for that subgroup to 350 (±5).
