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SLU/YouGov Poll: Missouri Voters Express Confidence in 2026 Election Administration

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Majorities support voter photo-ID laws, in-person absentee voting, and reinstituting the Missouri presidential primary

ST. LOUIS - The SLU/YouGov Poll, in a survey of 900 likely Missouri voters, finds that voters are relatively confident in Missouri election administration heading into the November election, even as voters divide sharply along party lines over election policies.

Key Poll Findings

The margin of error for the full survey sample is ± 3.63%. Top-line survey results are available here. 

Missouri Voters Confident that Elections will be Fair

Missouri voters express relatively strong confidence that elections in the state will be administered fairly. In the February 2026 SLU/YouGov Poll, 33% of Missouri likely voters say they are “very confident”  that elections will be “run and administered fairly,” and another 49% say they are “somewhat confident.” At least 75% of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents say they are at least somewhat confident that Missouri elections this November will be run fairly. Confidence is also high across communities, with at least 81% of urban, rural, and suburban voters expressing at least some confidence.

“Missouri voters appear more confident in election administration than Americans overall,” said Steven Rogers, Ph.D., SLU/YouGov Poll Director and associate professor of political science at Saint Louis University. “In a recent Marist poll, only 66% of American adults said they were confident or very confident that their state or local government will run a fair and accurate election this November. YouGov similarly found that only 58% of American adults had at least moderate confidence that the 2026 midterm elections would be held fairly. By comparison, we find that four in five Missouri likely voters express confidence in how elections will be run.”

Missouri Voters Support Voter Photo ID and No-Excuse Absentee Voting

An election law (HB 1878) passed in 2022 reshaped how Missouri conducts elections. The February 2026 SLU/YouGov Poll asked voters about several important provisions of that law, including voter photo identification requirements, a two-week no-excuse absentee voting period, a ban on ballot drop boxes, and the elimination of the state-run presidential primary.

The Supreme Court of Missouri recently heard a case concerning the 2022 law’s photo ID requirement, and most Missouri voters (82%) told the SLU/YouGov Poll that they support requiring photo identification to vote. Fifty-six percent of voters also support allowing in-person absentee ballots to be cast at least two weeks before Election Day. However, partisan differences are substantial. Ninety-eight percent of Republican and 82% of independent voters support the photo ID requirement, compared with 61% of Democrats. Meanwhile, 82% of Democrats and 55% of Independents support two weeks of no-excuse absentee voting, compared to 39% of Republicans.

Missouri voters are less supportive of other provisions in the 2022 law, particularly those that limit voting options. For instance, a majority of voters (53%) support allowing voters to return absentee ballots through drop boxes, despite the law’s ban on the practice. Missouri is one of 11 states that prohibit the use of drop boxes.

“Voters strongly support photo ID, which makes it more difficult to vote,” said Rogers. “Yet many also support measures that expand access, like ballot drop boxes, showing that ‘election security’ is not a single-issue concept for most people.”

Fifty-four percent of Missouri likely voters also say they support reinstating a state-run presidential primary, while just 8% oppose it and 37% are not sure. On April 9, 2026, the Missouri House passed legislation to restore the presidential primary beginning in the next election cycle (HB 2387 and 2480).

Amending the Missouri Constitution

In 2024, Missouri voters narrowly passed amendments to the Missouri constitution to legalize abortion and sports gambling, respectively, with 52% and 50% of the statewide vote. Only simple majorities were required to pass those amendments. Later this year, Missouri voters may be asked to change that threshold, requiring majority approval in each congressional district before any initiative petition can alter the state constitution.

When asked by the February 2026 SLU/YouGov Poll, 63% of Missouri voters favored this change to the constitutional amendment process. Support was narrowly bipartisan, with 72% of Republicans, 50% of Democrats, and 61% of independents backing the change.

“Requiring majority support in each U.S. Congressional district would make it much harder to amend the state constitution,” said Rogers. “In 2024, a majority of voters supported the sports betting amendment in four of eight congressional districts and the abortion amendment in only three districts. Under the proposed change, neither of these amendments would have likely passed.”

Conversation about Missouri Elections

The Missouri Humanities Council and SLU’s William L. Clay, Sr. Institute of Civic Engagement and Economic Justice will host a public “Every Voice, Every Vote” event on civic engagement on April 27. The event will bring together community members, students, and civic leaders to discuss how Missourians experience democracy today, what builds trust in elections, what barriers to participation remain, and how shared values shape civic life.

The discussion, featuring experts in law, politics, and elections, takes place at 7 p.m. Monday, April 27, in the Anheuser-Busch Auditorium in the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business. Admission is free and open to the public. Complimentary parking is available at Laclede Garage, located at 3602 Laclede Ave.

The event is partly funded by a grant from the Missouri Humanities Council (MHC). The MHC is the only statewide agency in Missouri devoted exclusively to humanities education for citizens of all ages. It has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities since 1971.

Methodology and Funding

YouGov interviewed 900 likely Missouri voters between February 9 and February 22, 2026. The YouGov panel, a proprietary opt-in survey panel, is comprised of 3.1 million United States residents who have agreed to participate in YouGov Web surveys. Using their gender, age, race, and education, YouGov weighted the set of survey respondents to known characteristics of Missouri voters from the American Community Survey (ACS) public use microdata file, public voter file records, the 2020 Current Population Survey (CPS) Voting and Registration supplements, the 2020 National Election Pool (NEP) exit poll, and the 2020 CES surveys, including demographics and 2020 presidential vote. 

The February 2026 SLU/YouGov Poll was funded by SLU’s College of Arts & Sciences. Additional grant funding from the Missouri Humanities Council supports the poll. 

About YouGov

YouGov conducts surveys for multiple academic institutions and is the primary, trusted survey firm for media organizations, including CBS News and The Economist. FiveThirtyEight (538) ranked YouGov as one of the top pollsters in the country, with respect to its strong commitment to accuracy and transparency in polling and in September 2024, The New York Times reported “Only YouGov, long at the cutting edge of [online] polling, is still producing reasonably accurate results with [online] panels.”

About Saint Louis University

Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic research institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 15,300 students a rigorous, transformative education that challenges and prepares them to make the world a better place. As a nationally recognized leader in research and innovation, SLU is an R1 research university, advancing groundbreaking, life-changing discoveries that promote the greater good.