A “plurality” of whites incarcerated in prisons and jails who responded to a mail-in poll back President Donald Trump, reports Slate and the Marshall Project . Of black prisoners expressing an opinion, Joe Biden narrowly led Bernie Sanders. The survey of 8,266 people found that 45 percent of those self-identifying as white supported the president. The survey, which was enclosed in a magazine distributed to 500 prisons and jails, also found that individuals identifying as Republican also back policies like legalizing marijuana that are less popular with GOP voters generally. Democrats in prison are less enthusiastic about an assault weapons ban than are Democrats at large. The outlets said their results “undercut” other claims that prisoners are more likely to vote Democratic, but they acknowledged the survey is “not representative” of the entire prison population. More than two million individuals are behind bars in the U.S.
Black respondents were the only group of respondents who named racial bias in criminal justice as a top concern. Other groups picked reducing the prison population as a top criminal justice priority. The U.S. is a long way from granting incarcerated people the right to vote, and polls show the idea is unpopular. The survey suggests that granting the right to vote to people currently or formerly incarcerated may not overwhelmingly benefit one party over the other. Survey respondents skewed whiter than the overall prison population and were disproportionately incarcerated in red states.