Growing Number of Americans Distrust the Electoral System as Trump Ramps Up Allegations of Fraud

Former President Donald Trump refused to accept his defeat during the 2020 elections, claiming a large fraud scheme took his victory away. Almost four years later, as he finds himself at the top of the Republican ticket for the third time, he is declining to answer whether he would accept the 2024 election results if he loses.

Throughout his political career, Trump has not shied away from disputing election results. Most notably, on Jan. 6, 2021, when he urged followers to storm the Capitol to prevent the verification of President Joe Biden's victory. But although his efforts have not been successful, it seems that election skepticism and readiness to overturn results is catching on with a faction of the public.

In a new poll by the World Justice Project survey, respondents showed a widespread distrust in elections and the courts that arbitrate them, with 14% of Republicans even asserting they would "take action to overturn the 2024 election based solely on who is declared the winner." By contrast, 11% of Democrats said they would do the same.

The survey is completed annually and it is conducted by YouGov between June 10 and 18, sampling 1,046 U.S. households.

"Today, trust in many U.S. institutions, government accountability, and overall rule of law is considerably lower than it was ahead of the 2020 election," Elizabeth Andersen, the executive director of the World Justice Project— which works to advance the rule of law around the globe— said in a statement.

Since 2013, the share of Americans who say they believe "a high-ranking official would be held accountable for breaking the law" decreased from 60% to 35%, according to the survey.

Nevertheless, over 90% Democrats and Republicans consider the rule of law to be essential or important for the future of the country, U.S. democracy, and their own lives. But when asked to describe the current state of U.S. rule of law, the majority of respondents showed disdain, using words like "corrupt," "bias," "unequal," and "unfair."

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

Democrats, however, still place significantly more trust in the electoral process than Republicans. For instance, 67% of Democrats said they think officials who administer elections are trustworthy, while just 34% of Republicans said the same.

A minority of Democrats, 27%, said the presidential election results would not be legitimate in their eyes if their favored candidate does not win. Meanwhile, nearly half of Republicans, 46%, said the same.

Conversely, when it comes to the judicial system, Republicans are more trustful than Democrats. But overall, the percentage of respondents that perceive the justice system as fair and independent remains below pre-2018 levels.

Less than half, 47%, of respondents said judges decide cases in an independent manner. Likewise, 31% said courts are not biased towards money or influence.

Looking at partisanship, 47% of Democrats said they would trust the Supreme Court to "fairly determine the winner of a contested election," while a majority of Republicans, 67%, said the same.

The divide comes as the Supreme Court holds a Republican majority, with 6 Republican justices— John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh— and three Democrats— Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan. The polarized court has been at the center of controversial decisions over the past few years, including the overturning of Roe v. Wade and granting immunity to former Presidents for "official acts."