Democrats, furious with Trump, more keen to vote now: poll

Despite potential health risks, Americans are determined to vote in this year’s presidential election, with Democrats’ intention to vote rising more than it is among Republicans both nationally and in battleground states, according to a Reuters/Ipsos online poll.

And that could be a sign of trouble for President Trump.

Trump has seen his chief argument for re-election - a soaring economy and record-low unemployment - evaporate amid a health crisis that has put millions of Americans out of work.

And after three years in the White House, this much is clear: Those who want to deny Trump the presidency are much more determined to vote now than they were four years ago.

According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 70% of Democrats said they were “certain” to vote in the upcoming presidential election, 9 percentage points higher than in the first quarter of 2016.

And in contrast, among Republicans, the increase from 2016 was much smaller – Just 3 percentage points – with 71% saying they will vote in November.

When the poll combined states that are expected to be especially competitive this year like Michigan, Florida and Wisconsin – voting interest rose by 11 points among Democrats over the past four years, while it only rose by 3 points among Republicans.

Although Democrats have outnumbered Republicans in the United States for years, they tend to be less politically active. But for the first time since 20-12, nearly the same percentage of Democrats and Republicans said they planned to vote this year.

But in a positive sign for Trump - his reelection campaign points to a strong turnout for the president at state Republican primaries this year - even though he did not have competition on the ballot.