Welcome to NAVIGATOR – a project designed to better understand the American public’s views on issues of the day and help advocates, elected officials, and other interested parties understand the language, imagery, and messaging needed to make and win key policy arguments.
This release features findings from a national online survey of 1,002 registered voters conducted November 6-8, 2020.
Key takeaways
- Nearly four in five say that Biden is winning the election, including a majority of Trump voters.
- Confidence that ballots will be counted accurately and fairly has declined among Trump voters.
- Trump remains underwater on approval of his response to the election results, while almost two in three approve of Biden’s response.
What We Did
A Resounding Majority Now Say Biden Is Winning the Election
While 65% of Americans said Biden was winning before noon on November 7th before the Associated Press and others began to call the election for him, 74% said the same in interviews conducted after.
Americans Increasingly Report Biden Has Won the Election
Americans report hearing a range of things from news coverage of the election, including most dominantly that Joe Biden has won the election and that Donald Trump is pushing back against the election results.
- On a separate question, 77% of Americans say they are following coverage of the election “very closely” or “somewhat closely,” including 90% of Biden voters and 72% of Trump voters.
While Most Remain Confident in Election, Decline in Confidence Among Trump Voters
Among Trump voters since November 5th, there has been a 15-point decrease in confidence that the results will be counted correctly and fairly, and a 16-point decrease in confidence regarding the counting of their own ballot.
Concern About Voter Fraud Rises Among Trump Voters as Voting Concerns Fall Among Biden Voters
Two in five now say they are more concerned about vote fraud, while just three in ten say they are more concerned about voter suppression.
- Among Biden voters, there has been a 19-point increase in the share who are not concerned about either voter suppression or voter fraud since November 5th (from 29% to 48%).
Approval of Biden’s Response to Election Results Rises While Ratings of Trump’s Response Remain Deeply Negative
Three in five continue to disapprove of Donald Trump’s response to the election results, while nearly two in three approve of Joe Biden’s response.
- Three in ten Trump voters (29%) approve of Biden’s response to the election results.
Americans Believe Trump “Just Wants to Win,” While Most See Biden as Wanting an “Honest and Accurate Count”
Three in five Americans think Donald Trump just wants to win the election rather than have an honest and accurate count of the votes, while a majority of Americans say the opposite of Joe Biden.
- Nearly one in five Trump voters say Biden wants an “honest and accurate count” over just wanting to win.
Americans Increasingly Say It Is Time for Trump to Concede
In interviews conducted before noon on November 7th, just a third (33%) said Trump should have conceded; after, more than half (51%) said he should concede.
Four in Five Biden Voters Say We Will Know Results Within Next Week; Declining Share of Trump Voters Agree
There was an 11-point increase in the share of Biden voters who said we would know within the next week before the race was called (75%) compared to after (86%).
- Among Trump voters, there was a 5-point decrease (from 48% to 43%).
