• Polling

Significant Concerns Remain About January 6th’s Impact on Future Elections and Voting Rights

Thursday, December 16, 2021 By Bryan Bennett
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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.
Key takeaways
  • Majorities oppose Trump supporters’ actions on the day of January 6th and feel it is important to prosecute those involved.
  • Those who do not strongly support Republicans in Congress express concern about a range of criticisms of how they responded to the January 6th attack.
  • While Democrats see January 6th as a “riot” and “terrorist attack,” Republicans view it as a “protest.”

Three in Four Continue to Oppose Trump Supporters’ Actions on January 6th and Feel It Is Important to Prosecute Those Involved

Nearly four in five independents (77%) and three in five Republicans (61%) feel it is important to find and prosecute the January 6th rioters.

A Majority Support the House Investigation into January 6th

Majorities of Democrats (88%) and independents (67%) support the investigation; Republicans are more split, though more support the investigation than oppose it (+5 net support).

Three in Four Americans Watched News About January 6th on That Day

Across partisanship and media consumption, overwhelming majorities report having watched news coverage of the events of January 6th.

Range of Items Tying Republicans in Congress to the Events of January 6th Are “Very Concerning”

Independents who do not strongly approve of Congressional Republicans are most concerned by Republican members helping organizers and the role of white supremacist factions in deciding the direction of the Republican Party.

Americans Are Most Troubled By the Death of Police Officers and the Risk January 6th Placed Our Democracy In

For independents, the top two concerns are the related deaths of police officers and that the insurrection was the violent consequence of spreading the belief the 2020 election was stolen.

On the Insurrection’s Impact on Future Elections and Voting Rights, Americans Find a Range of Items Concerning

Independents are most concerned that Donald Trump encouraged violence (75%) and by the threat of an extremist minority government (75%).

Americans See January 6th as a “Riot,” Though Republicans Call It a “Protest” and Democrats, a “Terrorist Attack”

Independents are most likely to call the event a “riot,” (50%) followed by “insurrection,” (40%) and “treason” (37%).

About The Study

This release features findings from national online surveys of 1,000 registered voters each, conducted November 18-22, 2021 and December 3-6, 2021. Additional interviews were conducted among approximately 100 Hispanic voters per survey, approximately 100 African American voters per survey, approximately 100 independents without a partisan lean per survey, and approximately 70 Asian American and Pacific Islander voters per survey.

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About Navigator

In a world where the news cycle is the length of a tweet, our leaders often lack the real-time public-sentiment analysis to shape the best approaches to talking about the issues that matter the most. Navigator is designed to act as a consistent, flexible, responsive tool to inform policy debates by conducting research and reliable guidance to inform allies, elected leaders, and the press. Navigator is a project led by pollsters from Global Strategy Group and GBAO along with an advisory committee, including: Andrea Purse, progressive strategist; Arkadi Gerney, The Hub Project; Joel Payne, The Hub Project; Christina Reynolds, EMILY’s List; Delvone Michael, Working Families; Felicia Wong, Roosevelt Institute; Mike Podhorzer, AFL-CIO; Jesse Ferguson, progressive strategist; Navin Nayak, Center for American Progress Action Fund; Stephanie Valencia, EquisLabs; and Melanie Newman, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

For press inquiries contact: press@navigatorresearch.org