A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and The Heartland Institute finds that 21% of Likely U.S. voters who voted by absentee or mail-in ballot in the 2020 election say they filled out a ballot, in part or in full, on behalf of a friend or family member, such as a spouse or child, while 78% say they didn’t.

Thirty percent (30%) of those surveyed said they voted by absentee or mail-in ballot in the 2020 election. Nineteen percent (19%) of those who cast mail-in votes say a friend or family member filled out their ballot, in part or in full, on their behalf. Furthermore, 17% of mail-in voters say that in the 2020 election, they cast a ballot in a state where they were no longer a permanent resident.

All of these practices are illegal, Heartland Institute officials noted.

“The results of this survey are nothing short of stunning,” said Justin Haskins, director of the Socialism Research Center at the Heartland Institute. “For the past three years, Americans have repeatedly been told that the 2020 election was the most secure in history. But if this poll’s findings are reflective of reality, the exact opposite is true. This conclusion isn’t based on conspiracy theories or suspect evidence, but rather from the responses made directly by the voters themselves.

The survey of 1,085 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on November 30-December 6, 2023 by Rasmussen Reports and The Heartland Institute.

“A democratic republic cannot survive if election laws allow voters to commit fraud easily, and that’s exactly what occurred during the 2020 election,” said Haskins of The Heartland Institute. “Although some progress has been made in more than a dozen states since the conclusion of the 2020 election, much more work is needed in most regions of the United States. If America’s election laws do not improve soon, voters and politicians will continue to question the truthfulness and fairness of all future elections.”

Less than a quarter of voters believe Congress is doing anything to make their lives better.

Less than a year before the 2024 election, voters still trust Republicans more on the key issue of taxes, although the margin has narrowed.