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Surveying Public Trust in American Elections

Trust in American Elections survey previewFewer than Half of Americans Expect Free and Fair Midterms (PDF)

Only 49% of Americans answered "Yes" when asked "Do you expect that the upcoming midterm elections held in November 2026 will be free and fair elections?" in a new national survey conducted from September 1-9, 2026. 23% responded "No" and 28% said "I don't know." Read the latest report by the Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections at UC San Diego.

 

Trust in American Elections survey previewTrust in American Elections Has Declined Since 2024, Broad Concerns about ICE at Polling Places in 2026 (PDF)

Trust in the accuracy and integrity of elections in America rose to high levels across the political spectrum shortly after the 2024 presidential election, but in the year since then it has declined significantly among Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike. Looking ahead to the 2026 midterm elections, only 60% of Americans are "very" or "somewhat" confident that votes will be counted accurately nationwide. This is one of the key findings from a national Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections survey of 11,406 eligible American voters conducted from December 19, 2025 through January 12, 2026

How Did Trust Change survey previewHow Did Trust in Elections Change After the 2024 Presidential Contest? (PDF)

To answer this question, we measure levels of trust in the accuracy and integrity of American elections through two Yankelovich Center national surveys that are representative of eligible voters, one conducted just before the 2024 election and the other fielded immediately after it.  On the eve of the election, there was a wide gap over trust in elections between supporters of Donald Trump and those who backed Kamala Harris. After Trump's clear victory, that gap entirely disappeared. Confidence in elections rose overall, but trust declined among Black Americans, Latinos, and Asian-Americans, opening a new demographic divide.

After The 2022 Midterms survey previewAfter the 2022 Midterms, Do Americans Trust Elections? (PDF)

Democrats and independents say they have greater confidence in the system’s accuracy and integrity than they did before the election was held, but Republican confidence did not increase. Real-world remedies hold promise for restoring trust in elections.