Virginians generally favor mail-in voting but also support a photo ID requirement, according to the Roanoke College Poll. Meanwhile, the commonwealth’s political anxiety index has changed little since the last update six months ago. The Institute for Policy and Opinion Research (IPOR) at Roanoke College interviewed 819 Virginia residents between Nov. 9 and Nov. 14, 2025. The survey has a weighted margin of error of 5.25%.
Election logistics
While a large majority of respondents (82%) favor requiring voters to show a government-issued photo ID, majorities also support automatically registering all eligible citizens (66%) and allowing any voter to vote by mail (65%). A small majority (53%) opposes banning so-called ballot harvesting, but 43% favor such a ban. Overall, more Virginians believe absentee ballots increase turnout and make elections more accurate (55%) than think the ballots will be falsified or miscounted and lead to inaccurate results (42%).
Political Anxiety and Politics
The overall political anxiety index of 81.26 is down eight points since May. While that decrease is almost negligible, the overall number continues to mask how things are viewed by different partisans. Last year, Democratic anxiety increased dramatically from May 2024 (-10.39) to November 2024 (101.77). But their current anxiety index stands at 155.42, which is almost exactly where it was in May 2025 (153.36).
Similarly, Republican anxiety dropped last year between May 2024 (166.59) and November 2024 (13.52). But it’s remained close to level this year (-30.10 in May 2025 and -34.13 in November 2025). Political anxiety remains strongly related to party control of the White House and Congress.
Most respondents trust the government in Washington to do what is right only sometimes (56%) or never (25%). But a majority (58%) thinks ordinary citizens can influence the federal government. Most Virginians (59%) think their side has been losing more than winning on important issues. A plurality (49%) is dissatisfied with how the federal government is working, and 27% are angry, which is the highest combined measure of discontent since 2017 (though only two points higher than May 2025). A majority (53%) thinks the country’s best years are behind us, and only 44% think the best years lie ahead.
Democrats remain more pessimistic about the federal government, while Republicans are less negative but still don’t trust the government and are generally dissatisfied, just not as much as Democrats at present. The only question in the index on which partisans generally agree is the power of the people to influence the government. Those results can be found in the crosstabs at the conclusion of the topline.
Six in 10 Virginians (61%) think the federal government makes their life worse, as opposed to the 35% who think the government makes their life better.
Job Approval, Favorable/Unfavorable, and Directions of Virginia and Nation
Three-fourths of Virginians (74%) think the country has gotten off on the wrong track, while half (50%) think the commonwealth is going in the right direction. That assessment of Virginia is similar to the August poll, but views of the country haven’t been this negative in two years. President Donald Trump’s job disapproval rating (63%) is higher than the October poll, while Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s job approval rating (54%) is up slightly and close to the average throughout his term.
Youngkin’s favorable rating (50% favorable/40% unfavorable) is also largely unchanged from August. Trump’s is down 7 points, but close to his typical rating. Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger’s rating (56% favorable/33% unfavorable) is the highest it has been in the Roanoke College Poll.
When asked how best to describe President Trump, the plurality chose criminal (30%), followed by leader (23%), disruptor (18%), fascist (16%) and visionary (11%). To no surprise, there are significant differences in how he is viewed by Democrats and Republicans.
Polling and the Media
A small majority of respondents (54%) trust the polling industry a great deal (10%) or some (44%), but many say their trust level is not very much (30%) or none at all (14%). A majority (56%) thinks pollsters slant the results to fit their views, while fewer (40%) think pollsters try to measure opinions accurately. A plurality of Virginians has limited (40%) or no (23%) trust that the media report the news fully, accurately, and fairly. These measures are within the margin of error from when they were asked in November 2024.
Analysis
“Mail voting in Virginia isn’t going anywhere, at least in the near term, which seems to be fine with most Virginians,” said Dr. Harry Wilson, interim director for IPOR and professor emeritus of political science at Roanoke College. “They are also happy to have a photo ID requirement, though it isn’t clear how that squares with mail voting.”
“With regard to specific elected officials, President Trump remains unpopular in the commonwealth, while Gov. Youngkin continues a long-term trend of relatively popular governors. Gov.-elect Spanberger appears ready to continue that tradition with a joyful honeymoon kickoff.”
“Democrats and Republicans continue to view things, almost everything, through a different lens. Their levels of political anxiety and descriptions of Trump remain relatively steady if vastly different.”
“Lastly, while some (or even many) of you may not believe it, all reputable pollsters attempt to measure opinion accurately and don’t slant the results to fit our views.”
