Fewer Americans Plan To Vote By Mail In 2026, Poll Finds

A recent NBC News poll of registered voters found that fewer Americans intend to cast ballots by mail in the 2026 midterm elections than in comparable periods of prior election cycles.

The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted from September 11-15, using a combination of telephone interviews and an online questionnaire distributed by text message. It carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Overall, 19 percent of respondents said they planned to vote by mail, compared with 25 percent in a similar NBC News survey conducted in September 2024 and 30 percent in August 2020. An additional 31 percent said they planned to vote early in person, up from 26 percent in September 2024 and 20 percent in August 2020.

A total of 44 percent of respondents planned to vote at the polls on Election Day, similar to the 45 percent recorded in September 2024 and 43 percent in August 2020. Five percent said they were not likely to vote, and one percent remained unsure.

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Fewer Americans plan to vote by mail in 2026 compared to 2020: NBC News poll https://t.co/wW2muzw1ki

— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) September 28, 2026

The results were varied among party-level responses. . Among Democrats, 23 percent planned to vote by mail, down from 34 percent at a comparable point in 2024. Thirty-six percent planned to vote early in person, up from 30 percent two years earlier, and 36 percent planned to vote on Election Day, nearly unchanged from 35 percent in 2024.

An additional five percent were unsure or indicated that they were unlikely to vote.

Among independents, 20 percent planned to vote by mail, compared with 28 percent in 2024. Twenty-eight percent planned to vote early in person, up from 22 percent, while 37 percent planned to vote on Election Day, down from 41 percent. Fifteen percent were unsure or unlikely to participate.

Republican respondents showed the least variation, as 16 percent said they planned to vote by mail, 26 percent planned to vote early in person, and 53 percent planned to vote on Election Day.

A separate NPR/PBS News/Marist poll of 1,280 registered voters conducted from September 14-15, found that nearly one-quarter of respondents planned to vote by mail, compared with 31 percent who reported having voted by mail in the 2024 presidential election. In that survey, 32 percent of Democrats, 26 percent of independents, and 12 percent of Republicans said they intended to vote by mail.

Confidence that the U.S. Postal Service would deliver election mail on time stood at 58 percent, down from 71 percent in 2024.

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