Voters Remain Confident in the Integrity of Voting Systems Heading into 2024 Election
The following memo details recent research commissioned by the Secure Democracy Foundation and Secure Democracy USA in key states across the country that shows voters have confidence in their state’s voting systems, trust their local election officials, and generally reject disinformation about fraud in the 2020 election.
Voters are confident in their state and local election systems and officials
Ahead of the 2024 elections, voters have strong confidence in their state’s election and voting systems. In Arizona, 69% of voters, and in Georgia, 67% of voters, are confident that election results in the 2024 presidential race will be accurate. Likewise, in Wisconsin, 73% of voters are confident the state can administer a fair election.
Voters also place significant trust in their local and state election officials. In Florida, 73% of voters reported trusting their county Supervisor of Elections. In Wisconsin, 60% of voters trust local election officials the most (over state election officials or the state legislators) to ensure fairness and accuracy in election results.
In recent surveys, voters were clear that they want election results to be determined by vote counts by local election officials, not partisan politicians. In Arizona, 78% of voters want election results to be determined by local and state election officials, while only 11% want the state legislature to be able to override the final results. Similarly, in Georgia, 71% of voters want state officers to declare the winner of an election based on the verified vote counting done by local election officials.
Majority of voters reject 2020 fraud claims
Half of voters in key states across the country reject claims of significant fraud in the 2020 presidential election and only a quarter to a third of voters, depending on the state, on average believe fraud changed the results in that election.
However, disinformation about fraud in the 2020 election remains prevalent among Republican voters. In five key swing states tested in November 2023, 46-59% of Republican voters responded that there was major fraud in 2020 and it changed the results of the election. With that said, that also means that roughly half of Republicans reject, question, or are not sure of 2020 fraud claims and may be open to alternative messages around election integrity.
Secure Democracy Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that produces research and analysis focused on voting and elections. We work to educate the public on how our election systems are secure and trustworthy.
Secure Democracy USA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization that works to build confidence in our elections and improve voter access across the United States. We educate policymakers and the public about what it takes to safeguard our voting systems. We use sophisticated survey and messaging research to inform our strategy and we collaborate with state leaders, election administrators, policy experts, and allies to ensure that all eligible citizens have the freedom to vote how they choose.