72% of Americans say the U.S. used to be a good example of democracy, but isn’t anymore
A median of 40% of adults across 34 other countries surveyed in 2024 say U.S. democracy used to be a good example for other countries to follow.
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More U.S. locations experimenting with alternative voting systems
We identified 261 U.S. jurisdictions that have adopted some voting method other than the winner-take-all system most American voters know.
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Many Western Europeans think mandatory voting is important, but Americans are split
Around two-thirds of adults in Germany, France and the UK say it is important for their national government to make voting compulsory.
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Share of Republicans saying ‘everything possible’ should be done to make voting easy declines sharply
An 85% majority of Democrats say everything possible should be done to make voting easy; 28% of Republicans say this.
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Many in U.S., Western Europe Say Their Political System Needs Major Reform
In the U.S., concerns about political corruption are especially widespread. Two-in-three Americans agree that the phrase “most politicians are corrupt” describes their country well.
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Large Majority of the Public Views Prosecution of Capitol Rioters as ‘Very Important’
Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to say prosecuting those who broke in on Jan. 6 is very important and that penalties for them will likely be less severe than they should be.
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Even before Capitol riot, most people in Germany, France and the UK had concerns about U.S. political system
Majorities in all three countries said in a fall 2020 survey that the U.S. system needs either major changes or to be completely reformed.
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Biden Begins Presidency With Positive Ratings; Trump Departs With Lowest-Ever Job Mark
68% of the public does not want Donald Trump to remain a major political figure in the future.
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Black voters were most likely to say November election was run very well
Black voters were more likely to say the 2020 election was administered very well both nationally and locally.
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Republicans who relied on Trump for news more concerned than other Republicans about election fraud
In studying voters’ views of election fraud, we found these views varied by whether people got their news from the Trump campaign.
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Voters Say Those on the Other Side ‘Don’t Get’ Them. Here’s What They Want Them to Know.
Biden and Trump supporters tell us in their own words about America’s political divisions
