Half of Republicans say the 2020 election was rigged

This week's Economist/YouGov Poll finds sharp divides in public confidence in U.S. elections, with Democrats and Republicans holding vastly different views on the legitimacy of the 2020 election, the credibility of Donald Trump's recent election-rigging claims, and expectations for the fairness of future elections.

28% of Americans — including half (50%) of Republicans and only 9% of Democrats — believe that the 2020 presidential election was "rigged." Republicans who identify as MAGA supporters are about twice as likely as non-MAGA Republicans to think the election was rigged (66% vs. 32%).

Trump recently claimed that this year's primary elections in California were rigged. One-third (33%) of Americans believe he has concrete evidence to support this claim; 67% think he is just trying to sow doubt in the legitimacy of the elections. Most Republicans (72%) think Trump has evidence to support his claims of rigging in California. MAGA Republicans are far more likely than non-MAGA Republicans to believe Trump has evidence of rigging (84% vs. 51%). Only 3% of Democrats think Trump has concrete evidence of the elections being rigged.

Confidence in the upcoming November election is less politically polarized, though Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they are very confident that the election will be conducted fairly and the votes counted accurately (37% vs. 16%). And while MAGA and non-MAGA Republicans have very different views about the fairness of the 2020 presidential election and 2026 California primary elections, the two groups of Republicans have similar levels of confidence in the upcoming election.

Image: Getty (Samuel Corum / Stringer)

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