Pew Research: Most Americans Trust 2024 Election Process, but GOP Skepticism Persists
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, a new Pew Research Center survey reveals that while most Americans are confident in the fairness and accessibility of the upcoming election, significant partisan divides remain.
The survey, conducted in early July 2024, found that 61% of Americans are very or somewhat confident that the election will be conducted fairly and accurately. This figure has remained relatively stable since 2020. Even more encouragingly, 76% of Americans believe that all citizens who want to vote will be able to do so, a modest increase from 2020.
However, the partisan gap in these views is striking. Democrats are significantly more likely than Republicans to express confidence in the election's fairness, with 77% of Democrats feeling confident compared to just 47% of Republicans. This represents a complete reversal from April 2020, when Republicans were more confident than Democrats about election fairness.
Interestingly, the gap in views on voting accessibility has narrowed since 2020, mainly due to increased confidence among Democrats. In April 2020, only 43% of Democrats were confident that all citizens who wanted to vote would be able to. That figure has now risen to 71%, while Republican confidence in voting accessibility has remained consistently high.
The survey also revealed intraparty divides:
Among Democrats:
Younger Democrats are less confident in election fairness than older Democrats.
White Democrats express more confidence in election fairness than Black and Hispanic Democrats.
Among Republicans:
White Republicans are less confident in election fairness than Black, Asian, and Hispanic Republicans.
Older Republicans are slightly more confident in voting accessibility than younger Republicans.
These findings highlight the ongoing challenges in building bipartisan trust in the electoral process. As we approach the 2024 election, addressing these concerns and fostering confidence in our democratic institutions remains a crucial task for policymakers and civic leaders alike.
While it's heartening to see overall confidence in election fairness and accessibility remaining stable or slightly improving, the persistent partisan divides underscore the need for continued efforts to strengthen and communicate the integrity of our electoral system to all Americans, regardless of political affiliation.
Click here to read the full report.