A majority of American voters supports a criminal investigation of Hillary Clinton's personal email account.

Though roughly half of voters (51 percent) believes Clinton's private email use during her time as secretary of state was mainly a matter of convenience, 52 percent also say her emails should be subject to a criminal investigation into the potential release of classified material, according to a new Monmouth University poll released Wednesday.

Thirty-eight percent of those voters believe Clinton has something to hide, with 68 percent of Republicans being more likely to believe this notion than 80 percent of Democrats who believe it was a matter of convenience.

Most Republicans, 82 percent, support a criminal investigation, compared to 66 percent of Democrats who are opposed.

"Initial media reports of a criminal probe proved to be inaccurate, but most voters feel that the potential release of classified information merits investigation," Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement.

The poll also found that Republicans are more likely than Democrats (87 percent to 56 percent) to have heard much about Clinton's use of private emails. Overall, 61 percent of voters have heard about the story.

The telephone poll of roughly 1,000 registered American voters was conducted July 30-Aug. 2 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.