Republicans’ trust in the election system dropped by 50% following Election Day as the Trump campaign continues its pursuit in pushing allegations of widespread voter fraud.
A new Morning Consult poll shows only 34% of Republican registered voters surveyed say they trust the United States election system “a lot” or “some,” while the remaining two-thirds of conservatives distrust it. Slightly more than two weeks ago, 68% of Republicans said they trust the system. Conversely, the registered Democrats surveyed trust in the election system more after the election — 78% said they trust the election system, while 66% did before the election.
A number of media outlets — including the Associated Press, CNN, the New York Times, and Fox News, among others — projected Democratic nominee Joe Biden to be the next president. He was projected to win states including Arizona, by some outlets, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Wisconsin. While Biden has given an acceptance speech and has put a transition team in motion, President Trump has not conceded, and his campaign is seeking recounts and legal remedies in the hope of winning four more years in the White House.
The campaign has yet to come up with verifiable proof to support their claims of widespread fraud and have not alleged any intentional or unintentional malfeasance in any state the president has been projected to win. Many GOP allies on the Hill have encouraged the campaign to keep fighting, while only a handful have congratulated Biden on his apparent victory.
The dip in trust in the election system likely correlates with the campaign’s rhetoric surrounding the election. The latest iteration of the poll, which revealed the 50% drop, was conducted on Nov. 6-9 and surveyed nearly 2,000 registered voters. The margin of error is 2 percentage points.
