Interest in presidential election hits near-record high: poll

Interest in this year’s presidential election has hit a near-record high for this point in the election cycle, according to a national poll released Sunday. 

The Washington Post-ABC News poll determined that nearly six in 10 registered voters – 58 percent – said they are “very closely” following the 2020 presidential race between President Trump and Democrat Joe Biden.

This percentage of registered voters is higher than any other presidential election at this point in the cycle going back to 2000, when George W. Bush faced Al Gore.

Out of all registered voters, 30 percent said they were following the election “somewhat closely,” while 12 percent said they were following “not so closely” or “not closely at all.”

Interest in this year’s election appears evenly distributed among Democrats and Republicans, with 86 percent of Democrats and 87 percent of Republicans following the election either very closely or somewhat closely. 

Fourteen percent of Democrats and 13 percent of Republicans reported following the cycle not so closely or not closely at all. 

Among independents, 75 percent said they were following the presidential election either very closely or somewhat closely, compared to 25 percent who said they were following it not so closely or not closely at all. 

Out of all U.S. adults, who are not necessarily registered voters, 51 percent said they are following very closely, 29 percent said they were following somewhat closely and 20 percent said they were either paying attention not so closely or not closely at all. 

Eighty-nine percent of registered voters said they were absolutely certain to vote in the presidential election, an increase from 2016’s 83 percent of registered voters at this point in the cycle. 

The Washington Post-ABC News surveyed 1,008 U.S. adults, including 889 registered voters and 739 likely voters, between Sept. 21 and 24. The margin of error amounted to 3.5 percentage points.