Our research below provides messaging guidance for progressives to win key policy debates.
With election season nearing an ending, both Biden and Trump voters say it is more important to count every vote in the presidential election than to quickly announce the results. Americans are pessimistic about the direction of the country today, and the pandemic trumps the economy as the most important election issue for voters.
Most Americans desire “major change,” and believe various reforms such as elimination of the filibuster, voting rights reforms, and even some SCOTUS reform would have a positive impact on government.
Majorities of Americans believe Trump has not done enough to discourage white supremacist violence while making disorder across the country worse; half say Republicans in Congress have not shown independence from Trump and are seen as “yes men” with “no backbone.”
As most Americans expect to know the outcome after more than a day, overwhelming majorities find arguments to be patient in awaiting election results convincing; the public also has serious concerns that Trump’s rhetoric will inspire violence following the election.
A majority say the pandemic is “out of control,” and it continues to dominate negative conversation around Trump. Americans worry most about Trump’s ignoring of experts, failure to prepare, and downplaying the pandemic; most trust Fauci to make decisions over the president.
More than one in ten Americans report already casting ballots in this year’s election while those who haven’t split between voting by mail or in-person on Election Day; the public’s top concerns about the election are Trump not accepting the results and trying to stop votes from being counted.
The public remains opposed to a potential rollback of the ACA and are overwhelmingly supportive of the $2.4 trillion coronavirus relief package.
Americans are worried the pandemic is surging: the share who say “the worst is yet to come” in the pandemic and who support “more aggressive social distancing” are climbing back to the levels seen in July amid surging cases.
The public believes it is likely the ACA will be struck down and Roe v. Wade overturned if Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed; Americans are bothered by Trump’s tax returns revealing he has paid no income tax 10 of the last 15 years.
Americans continue to believe the “worst is yet to come” with the coronavirus pandemic and expect we may not have presidential election results quickly.
Most Americans say Trump caught coronavirus because he was irresponsible, and many express concern that he is spreading it further. Americans also hold Trump responsible for the rising number of cases around the country.
Less than two in five Americans support the Senate considering Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court before the election, and express deep concern about the ACA and reproductive rights before the Court; a growing majority think it will take longer than the day after the election to know who won the presidency, and nine in ten Americans agree it is the most important election of their lifetimes.
Coronavirus, health care, and the economy remain the top concerns for Americans as most Americans now believe the worst is yet to come in the pandemic. Separately, many Americans disagree with the decision to forego filing homicide charges in the case involving the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor.
Americans are split on who they think will win in November at a time when many are concerned about the potential of a long count, voter supression, and foreign interference among other potential election-related issues.
The pandemic continuesto be Americans’ most important issue ata ttime when a majority continues to view America’s response to the pandemic as worse than the responses of other countries.