A narrow majority of Americans (55%) are confident that November’s midterm elections will be conducted fairly and accurately – lower than in the past three election years. These views have differed widely by party in the past, but today, similar shares of Democrats (58%) and Republicans (55%) express confidence in the election process.

As the Trump administration and some states seek to expand the use of capital punishment, 66% of Americans now favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder, up 6 percentage points since 2021. But majorities also say the death penalty does not deter serious crimes and see some risk of an innocent person being put to death.

After being appointed to the U.S. Senate last month, Darline Graham’s decision to run for a full term places her in a long line of senators who have sought to turn a temporary position into a longer tenure. Since 1990, most appointed senators (27 of 43) have sought election and, more often than not, they’ve won.

Four-in-ten Americans say it’s extremely or very important for kids growing up in the U.S. to learn a language other than English. When asked which languages are most important for schools to offer, the largest shares say Spanish (53%) and Mandarin Chinese (20%).