Two Years After Election Turmoil, GOP Voters Remain Skeptical on Elections, Vote Counts
There has been a sharp decline in the share of Republican voters who are “very confident” that votes cast at polling places will be counted accurately.
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There has been a sharp decline in the share of Republican voters who are “very confident” that votes cast at polling places will be counted accurately.
Most U.S. adults say President Joe Biden (65%) and Republican leaders in Congress (61%) will be unsuccessful getting their agendas enacted in the next two years; only about a third say the president and GOP leaders will be successful. Republicans are less confident than Democrats in midterm vote counts – but more confident than they were after the 2020 election.
The economy is clearly the top issue for voters; fully 79% say it will be very important to their voting decisions – the highest share among 18 issues included on the survey. The public continues to take a dim view of current economic conditions. Just 17% of U.S. adults say the economy is in excellent or good shape, little changed from the 13% who said this in July.
While the economy remains the dominant issue in this fall’s midterm elections, the issue of abortion has increased markedly in importance. More voters continue to view their midterm vote as an expression of opposition to Joe Biden than support for him. But across both parties, more voters now say Biden is not much of a factor in their vote.
When asked about the ideal age of a president, around half of Americans (49%) say they prefer someone in their 50s.
Joe Biden’s job rating is fairly comparable to Ronald Reagan’s (42%) and Bill Clinton’s (41%) at this stage of their presidencies.
About a third of Republicans (32%) say they would not like Donald Trump to remain a national political figure for many years to come.
Increasingly, Republicans and Democrats view not just the opposing party but also the people in that party in a negative light. Growing shares in each party now describe those in the other party as more closed-minded, dishonest, immoral and unintelligent than other Americans. Nearly half of younger adults say they “wish there were more parties to choose from.”
While 64% of Republicans say GOP congressional leaders should “stand up” to Biden on matters important to their party’s voters, Democrats are more likely to say they would support efforts by leaders to find common ground.
Among Republicans, support has declined for allowing early or absentee voting without an excuse and for automatically registering all eligible citizens to vote.
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