This spring, over several weeks, Economist/YouGov polls repeatedly asked whether “it should be easier or harder for people to vote in American elections than it is currently.” Each time the question was asked, more respondents said it should be easier than said it should be harder. But Republicans disagreed. By margins of 40 to 50 percentage points, they consistently said it should be harder. Even when pollsters don’t mention the word mail, Republicans bristle at the idea of routine early voting. In April, when the Pew Research Center asked Americans to choose between two statements on this issue, 63 percent chose the position that “any voter should have the option to vote early or absentee without having to document a reason.” But 62 percent of Republicans and Republican leaners chose the alternative answer: that voters should be allowed to cast their ballots early only “if they have a documented reason for not voting in person on Election Day.” From the standpoint of preventing fraud, it makes no difference whether the period for early voting, whether in person or by mail, is long or short. Either way, the same risks and security measures apply. Yet Republicans want to constrict this period. In May, when a Reuters/Ipsos survey asked about “shortening the time window for early or absentee voting,” more Americans opposed that idea than supported it. But Republicans strongly supported it, 65 percent to 23 percent. In March, when a Des Moines Register poll asked about a proposal to “change the early voting period in Iowa with fewer days allowed to request and cast absentee ballots,” most Iowa voters rejected that proposal. But Republicans endorsed it, 71 percent to 24 percent.