Even self-government is now a partisan issue 📊 July 23, 2021

New polling shows Republicans prefer to think of voting as a privilege, while Democrats call it a fundamental right

This is my weekly data-driven newsletter on politics, polling, and democracy — and whatever else I’m thinking about. If you want more frequent posts on these subjects please sign up for a paid subscription. I send out subscribers-only posts twice each week.

Source: Unsplash

A new poll on voting from the Pew Research Center is my pick for the poll of the week. Their politics team has asked Americans whether they think voting is a “fundamental right for every US citizen and should not be restricted” or a “privilege that comes with responsibilities and can be limited”. The poll reveals a wide partisan divide in support for mass democracy for qualified citizens: while 78% of Democrats say voting should be a fundamental right, under a third (32%) of Republicans say the same. Instead, 67% of GOPers think the franchise should be limited if people don’t meet their responsibilities. (The primary legal responsibility for voting, mind you, is citizenship.)

The reason I think this poll is so importa…