Most Americans Are Uneasy About Our Democracy, But Confident in Our Elections

September 22, 2022
Bryan Bennett

While Americans are anxious about the state of American democracy, most remain confident their ballot will be counted fairly in future elections

Key takeaways
  • Levels of motivation to vote in the context of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade remain just as high as when polled following the decision in early July.
  • Two in three Americans are confident their ballot was counted correctly and fairly in the 2020 presidential election results, and even more express confidence about their ballot counting in the upcoming midterm elections.
  • Learning that Trump had highly sensitive, classified documents detailing nuclear weapons programs increases the share who support the FBI serving a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago.

Majorities Identify as Pro-Choice and Disapprove of the Supreme Court Decision to Overturn Roe

By wide margins, independents both identify as pro-choice (net +36) and disapprove of the Supreme Court’s decision (net -25 approve).

Motivation to Vote in the Context of Roe Being Overturned Remains as High as When the SCOTUS Issued Its Ruling

Three in five Democrats (60%) say the ruling makes them “much more motivated to vote,” compared to just 30% of Republicans who say the same.

Nearly Two in Three Say Congress Should Ban Apps and Search Engines From Sharing Reproductive Health Data

Majorities of every partisan and racial group support Congress making it illegal for apps and search engines to sell this data.

Three in Ten Say They Are Not Confident About Past or Future Ballots Being Counted Fairly

Republicans are the most pessimistic about their past (55% not confident) and future ballots (51%) not being counted correctly and fairly.

White Americans Are Only Racial Demographic More Concerned By Voter Fraud Than Voter Suppression

Independents are more concerned about voter suppression (net +9 more concerned about voter suppression). White Americans are the only ethnic group who are more concerned by voter fraud than voter suppression (net -6 concerned about suppression).

Plurality of Americans Expect Delays in Election Results, But Seven in Ten Accept Them to Ensure Election Accuracy

Majorities across party, race, and ethnicity think it is more important to take “all the time that is needed to count every single vote” than to count the results as quickly as possible.

A Majority Support FBI Searching Mar-a-Lago; Info on Nuclear Documents Trump May Have Possessed Increases Support

After being made aware of the nature of the documents seized by the FBI, support increases among independents by 7 points (from net +17 to net +24), and Republicans by 16 points (from net -53 to net -37).

The FBI Finding Classified Nuclear Weapons Documents at Mara-Lago Splits Americans on Whether Trump Can Run Again

Half of independents (50%) and nearly three in four Democrats (72%) say that Trump should not be allowed to run for office again.

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About The Study

Global Strategy Group conducted public opinion surveys among a sample of 1,001 registered voters from September 8-September 11, 2022. 96 additional interviews were conducted among Hispanic voters. 76 additional interviews were conducted among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. 100 additional interviews were conducted among African American voters. 99 additional interviews were conducted among independent voters.

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