About
About COVID States
Learn about the project →
People
Meet the consortium →
Learning
Hands-on training→
Publications
Reports
Read all of our reports →
Publications
Read selected project papers →
Topics
Children and Youth
Explore this topic →
Economic Impact
Explore this topic →
Election
Explore this topic →
Executive Approval
Explore this topic →
Health Behavior
Explore this topic →
Mental Health
Explore this topic →
Misinformation
Explore this topic →
Policy Preferences
Explore this topic →
Schools
Explore this topic →
Testing
Explore this topic →
Vaccination
Explore this topic →
Other
Explore this topic →
Browse by Tag →
Data
Behaviors during COVID
View the tracker →
COVID-19 Tweets
View the tracker→
Trust in Institutions
View the tracker→
Vaccination Rates
View the tracker→
Views on Abortion
View the tracker→
Executive Approval
View the tracker→
Media Coverage
News articles
View selected media coverage →
Journalist resources
Inquiries →
Insights

Join Mailing ListContact Us
Home
About
About COVID States
Learn about the project →
People
Meet the consortium →
Publications
Reports
Read all of our reports →
Publications
Read selected project papers →
Topics
Children and Youth
Explore this topic →
Economic Impact
Explore this topic →
Election
Explore this topic →
Executive Approval
Explore this topic →
Health Behavior
Explore this topic →
Mental Health
Explore this topic →
Misinformation
Explore this topic →
Policy Preferences
Explore this topic →
Schools
Explore this topic →
Testing
Explore this topic →
Vaccination
Explore this topic →
Other
Explore this topic →
Data
Behaviors During COVID
View the tracker→
COVID-19 Tweets
View the tracker→
Trust in Institutions
View the tracker→
Vaccination Rates
View the tracker→
Views on Abortion
View the tracker→
Executive Approval
View the tracker→
Media Coverage
News articles
View selected news coverage →
Journalist resources
Inquiries→
Insights

Report #

29

Election fairness and trust in institutions

By the COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Policy Preferences Across States

Home
/
Publications
/
Reports
/
Election fairness and trust in institutions

Key takeaways

• While 67% of Americans say President-Elect Biden won the election, 17% suggest that Donald Trump is the winner. Thirty-nine percent of Republicans and 3% of Democrats reported thinking Trump is probably winning or definitely winning. 

• Overall, 38% of Americans lack confidence in the fairness of the 2020 presidential election. That number is especially high among Republicans (64%) and Trump voters (69%) compared to Democrats (11%) and Biden voters (8%). 

• There are large partisan gaps (over 40 percentage points) in public concerns about mail-in fraud (85% of Republicans, 38% of Democrats), inaccurate or biased vote counts (84% of Republicans, 44% of Democrats), and illegal votes from non-citizens (81% of Republicans, 34% of Democrats). 

• Asked about acceptable reactions to an unfair election, 45% of Americans approved of protesting on social media, 38% of protesting in person, 18% approved of violating laws without violence, and 8% of using violence. Non-violent law breaking was approved by 23% Democrats and 17% Republicans, violence by 10% Democrats and 8% Republicans. 

• 69% of Americans trust the Supreme Court to handle the election, 43% trust the news media, 31% trust social media companies. Trump is trusted by 39%, Biden by 59%. 

Featured media Coverage

No items found.

Tags

Policy Preferences
Trust in Institutions



Report details

Published:
December
2020
Report Number:
29
Topic:
Election
OSF Preprint:
View  
Download report   

Related Reports

Report #
113
2024 US Elections: Sources of News and Information
Election

Report #
112
October
2024
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Election and Personal Safety Issues
Election

Report #
111
October
2024
Americans of Middle Eastern/North African Descent (MENA)
Election

Report #
110
October
2024
North Carolina: 2024 Election and Healthcare Issues
Election

Join our mailing list to receive updates about new reports, findings, and datasets!
Join Mailing List
A multi-university collaboration
About
About COVID States
People
Learning
Insights
Publications
Reports
Journal Publications
Topics
Children and Youth
Economic Impact
Election
Executive Approval
Health Behavior
Mental Health
Misinformation
Policy Preferences
Schools
Testing
Vaccination
Other
Data
Behaviors during COVID
COVID-19 Tweets
Trust in Institutions
Vaccination Rates
Views on Abortion
Media
News articles
Journalist resources
© 2022  The COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Policy Preferences Across States
Contact us