Some Republican voters have expressed skepticism over their ballots being counted accurately in the upcoming 2024 Presidential election, a new poll found.
On Friday, a poll released by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that Republicans are significantly more doubtful than Democrats about the accuracy of ballot counting.
44 percent of Republicans lack confidence in accurate counts
The poll found that 49 percent of registered Republican voters express “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence in their local election officials to count votes accurately, while roughly 4 in 10 feel the same about their state’s count.
However, when it comes to nationwide vote counts, only 24 percent of Republicans said they have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence that their vote will be accurately counted. According to the poll, 44 percent of Republicans said they have “only a little” or “none at all” when asked about confidence levels that their vote will be accurately counted nationwide.
Republican voters’ trust levels across all three categories fall notably below those of Democrats. Approximately three-quarters of Democratic voters express at least “quite a bit” of confidence in the accuracy of vote counts at the local, state, and national levels.
According to the poll, voters are generally more confident in the accuracy of vote counts handled by their local election officials or within their state than they are in the national tally. About 6 in 10 voters express “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of trust in local or state-level vote counting for the 2024 presidential election, while only around half hold the same confidence in the nationwide count.
Trump’s ‘stolen election’ claims eroded trust
The 2024 election is the first presidential race since former President Donald Trump launched his claims of a stolen 2020 election—a narrative that, despite a lack of evidence for widespread fraud, has significantly eroded public trust in election results among many conservative voters.
People cast their in-person early ballot for the 2024 general election at the Northwest Activities Center on Oct. 29, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. On Nov. 1, 2024, a new poll found that Republicans are more likely to express concern over their votes being accurately counted in the 2024 election when compared to Democrats.
JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images
Some election experts caution that Trump may be setting the stage to contest the outcome if he loses again.
Mail-in ballots and voting drop boxes raise concerns
Texas conservative voter, David Farrington, 78, expressed concerns over the accuracy of mail-in ballots and voting drop boxes, which were both previously criticized in the last election by many Republicans.
“It’s not the vote count that I’m worried about,” he said. “I have every faith in all the precincts and their ability to count the ballots that are there. But the ballots—we don’t know if they’re legitimate or not.”
On the other hand, 28-year-old Ruth Edwards, a kindergarten teacher from Florida, disputed claims about rigged elections saying that she’s “never seen evidence” of it.
“It’s just people who are upset about their candidate losing who are now claiming it’s rigged with no evidence,” Edwards, a Democrat, said. “It’s ridiculous.”
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
