The 2024 elections are nearing, and most Americans are on board with accepting the election outcomes, with the exception of some divisions, especially where former President Trump is involved.
Poll findings
In a poll conducted by ABC News/Ipsos from August 23-27, 81% of Americans say they are prepared to accept the election results no matter what, while in the other option, a total of 68% believe they will accept the results by Vice President Kamala Harris while only 29% think the same concerning Donald Trump.
There is significant partisan division in the willingness to concede in the aftermath of the election. 92% of Harris’ followers are willing to and accept the outcome whereas 76% of Trump’s followers say willing too although they are not accepting any. Moreover, 21 % of Trump supporters, which is equivalent to about 8 % of the overall adult population, and about 27 % of constitutional Americans do not accept the election that is to say the dislike one result of the election which is actually taken.
Confidence in election integrity
Satisfaction regarding the integrity of an election out of election paraphernalia also divides opinions. Of the adult respondents, 34% of Americans say they are pretty sure votes will be counted fairly, the same as was reported in 2022. About 65% of those surveyed are confident that the number of votes will be accurate, out of which only 32% will absolutely be certain of that figure.
In terms of beliefs, they also do not believe that the 2020 presidential election was free and fair, as is the case among many Americans. A total of thirty-four percent of the American population think that Joe Biden did not get to the Oval Office fairly, a figure that has germinated since his swearing in. Attitudes towards democracy and acceptance of election outcomes are inevitably interconnected. Of those who are confident in the accuracy of policies, 92% of the people are willing to live with the outcomes of this particular year, as compared to 61% among those who believe otherwise.
Partisan and ideological divides
The variations by party have also been measured within the survey. It is noted that 90% of Democrats have confidence on the count with 96% of them believing that Biden was elected fair and square. Election malfeasance is an exception where 48% of Republicans have confidence and only 30% admit that Biden is legitimate. Independent voters’ attitudes are somewhat in between the two parties as 64% of them are confident and 66% believe that Biden won fairly.
Ideology also adds to the variations. Eighty percent or more of liberals, moderates and somewhat conservatives accept the results of any election. However, only 64% of very conservative members have the same opinion. There are extreme liberalism and extreme conservatism, confidence on vote count accuracy went to as low as 38% among very conservatism and peaked at 89% among liberals.
Methodology
This was an online survey of opinions on the envisaged behaviour of 2,496 adults. The partisan breakdown is similar with 29% democrats, 29% republicans, and 30% independents along with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
This survey, particularly as the 2024 elections draw closer, illustrates the polarization in American politics and the capacity in terms of tolerance and trust that different groups are able to call upon.
