One-third Americans won't accept results if their candidate loses: survey

The survey also highlights the lack of trust by Americans in their institutions to prevent fraud and rigging in the elections.



AP

Only one-third of Republicans (34 percent) and two-thirds of Democrats (67 percent) believe election officials are trustworthy. / Photo: AP

One-third of Americans would consider 2024 election results illegitimate if their favoured presidential candidate loses, a survey by the World Justice Project (WJP) has found.

Some 46 percent of Republicans and 27 percent of Democrats reached out for the survey said they would not consider the 2024 election results to be legitimate if the other party’s presidential candidate won.

“Today, trust in many US institutions, government accountability, and overall rule of law is considerably lower than it was ahead of the 2020 election,” said Elizabeth Andersen, executive director of the World Justice Project.

The survey also found that Americans lack trust in courts and elections.


According to the survey, 14 percent of Republicans and 11 percent of Democrats surveyed said they would take action to overturn the 2024 election based solely on who is declared the winner.


Only one-third of Republicans (34 percent) and two-thirds of Democrats (67 percent) believe election officials are trustworthy.  


The results also indicate that Democrats place significantly higher trust in many parts of the voting process, including fraud prevention and accurate vote counting.


However, less than half of Democrats believe in the integrity of the Supreme Court to fairly determine the winner of an election, compared to two-thirds of Republicans.


Many more Democrats than Republicans trust “the courts,” while many more Republicans trust “the Supreme Court.” 


The survey also highlights diminishing belief in strong anti-authoritarian and rule-of-law values.


The most common word they use to describe the current state of US rule of law is ‘“corrupt.” 


However, there has been positivity in terms of participation in elections.

“The good news is, despite polarisation, both Democrats and Republicans still agree on the fundamental principles of the rule of law, and they want to participate in democracy,” Andersen said.

WJP had reached out to 1,046 US households to carry out the survey in June.