OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Recent data from Pennsylvania driver’s license centers’ automatic voter registration programs reveals that the state’s presidential battleground state has seen an increase in sign-ups, which are still roughly evenly split between the political parties and do not substantially favor one over the other.
Since Pennsylvania Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro announced the change in September to make it easier for people to register and for counties to manage voter rolls, there have been just over four months of new voter registrations, according to the most recent data released by Pennsylvania’s elections office on Wednesday.
Comparing the number of people who signed up at driver’s license centers two years ago to the same period this year, it indicates a roughly 45% increase. The GOP has benefited from the new automatic voter registration system, which is the focus of a lawsuit from Republican lawmakers.
The data shows that out of approximately 47,300 newly registered voters, 35% selected an independent or third party, 34% selected the Republican party, and 31% selected the Democratic one, the Associated Press reported.
In contrast, roughly 32,500 new voters registered during a comparable period two years prior, with a breakdown of 35.5% Democratic, 34% Independent or Third Party, and 30.5% Republican.
According to state statistics, Democrats have a slight overall advantage in voter registration in Pennsylvania, with roughly 45% of voters compared to 40% for Republicans. But over the last ten years, the party’s lead has gradually decreased.
A new NBC News survey is horrendous news for Biden as his re-election campaign is underway.
According to the poll, which was released Sunday morning, Biden’s approval is at an all-time low of just 37 percent, leading a Democratic pollster to comment that the “damning” results indicate a “presidency in peril.”
Per Newsmax, citing the survey:
Former President Donald Trump not only leads Biden by 5 points (47%-42%) in the national poll, but he leads by:
–23 points on mental and physical health to be president (46%-23%).
–22 points on handling the economy (55%-33%).
–21 points on dealing with crime and violence (50%-29%)
–16 points on being competent and effective (48%-32%)
–11 points on improving America’s standing in the world (47%-36%)
–35 points on securing the southern border (57%-22%).
The ongoing illegal immigration crisis has become the No. 1 issue for most GOP primary voters, according to the report, though Democrats are increasingly fed up with Biden’s lax border enforcement policies as more migrants are shipped to major cities.
“What is most concerning is the erosion of Biden’s standing against Trump compared to four years ago,” Democrat pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates said.
“On every measure compared to 2020, Biden has declined. Most damningly, the belief that Biden is more likely to be up to the job—the chief tenet of the Biden candidacy—has evaporated,” Horwitt continued.
The current numbers appear favorable for Trump and “difficult” for the incumbent as they enter the core of the 2024 primary season, Republican pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies offered.
“It is hard to imagine a more difficult set of numbers before a reelection,” McInturff told NBC News.
With 73% of registered voters expressing the belief that the U.S. is on the wrong track under Biden, the only potential positive aspect for the current president and Howitt is that there is still time to reverse these numbers.
The pollsters have noted a steady increase in Trump’s support on various issues, such as:
–Border: Trump’s lead increased from 16 points in September 2020 to 35 points in January 2024.
–Economy: Trump expanded his 7-point lead in October 2020 to 22 points today.
–Crime and violence: Trump turned a 4-point deficit during the 2020 riots into a 21-point lead today, marking a 25-point swing.
–Competence and effectiveness: Trump reversed a 9-point deficit in June 2020 to a 16-point lead today, another 25-point swing.
–Mental and physical health for the presidency: Trump transformed a 1-point deficit in October 2020, when he was hospitalized with COVID-19, into a 23-point lead today.
The survey is also the latest to show Biden losing ground with younger voters who have traditionally gone for Democrats.
