Just under one in five people (17%) say they will either feel fairly or very unsafe about voting in person in this May’s elections. Nearly three quarters (72%) say they will either feel fairly or very safe.

Fears are, however, lower among those who say they usually vote in person (11%), and much higher among those who usually vote by post or by proxy (37%).

The data comes in a new YouGov poll, which found such worries probably higher among Remain supporters (20% feel fairly or very unsafe) than among Leave supporters (13%).

That suggests that fears over the safety of voting in person are unlikely to have a big impact on turnout as those most fearful are those most likely to vote by other methods anyway.

All the usual caveats about not paying too much attention to only one poll apply, of course. Especially as it’s a topic on which views may shift as, hopefully, vaccination spreads or if, worryingly, there’s a new COVID-19 variant endangering people. Overall attitudes towards the May elections going ahead certainly look to have been shifting (see the update to my earlier post).