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September 14 - 20, 2020 Franklin & Marshall College Poll

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The September 2020 Franklin & Marshall College Poll finds that only two in five (40%) of the state’s registered voters believe the state is “headed in the right direction,” which continues a steady decline in optimism about the direction of the state over the past year. Registered voters list COVID-19 (25%) as the most important problem facing the state today, but concerns about the economy and personal finances continue to increase, rising from 12% in July to 25% in September.

Nearly three-quarters (71%) of the state’s registered voters say they are “very interested” in the 2020 elections, about the same level of interest as last month (72%). This level of interest is similar to the interest expressed by registered voters in September 2016. More voters expect to cast their ballot in person (60%) than by mail (34%) in 2020, but there are partisan differences in these expectations. Most (58%) of the state’s registered voters favor the use of mail-in ballots, although many more Democrats (86%) and independents (62%) than Republicans (24%) favor mail-in voting. Most registered voters are confident that the state’s tabulated vote count will be accurate if mail-in voting is widely used (59%), but only one in three (32%) Republicans are confident those counts will be accurate, compared to most Democrats (83%) and Independents (51%).

About two in five (39%) registered voters in Pennsylvania believe President Trump is doing an “excellent” or “good” job as president, which is consistent with his ratings in recent polls. A majority of Republicans (80%) rate the President’s performance positively, while fewer Democrats (5%) or independents (35%) do so. Registered voters in the state continue to give President Trump the advantage over Mr. Biden on his ability handle economic matters, but Mr. Biden holds an advantage over the President on the other characteristics tested, most notably on issues in dealing with the coronavirus and on personal attributes such as character and honesty.