Most voters say that the 2024 election will be run and administered well, both in their community and across the U.S. And while confidence in election administration across the country is up since 2020, it remains lower than it was before the 2018 midterms.
- 92% of registered voters say that elections in their community will be run and administered at least somewhat well, including 50% who say they will be run very well. These shares are comparable to each of the last three general elections.
- 73% of voters say that elections across the U.S. will be run and administered at least somewhat well. This is 11 points higher than the share who said this in 2020, but 8 points lower than the share in 2018.
Harris voters are more positive than Trump voters in their predictions about national election administration:
- 90% of Harris supporters think elections across the U.S. this November will be run and administered well, including more than a third (37%) who say they will be administered very well.
- 57% of Trump supporters say U.S. elections will be administered well, with just 9% saying they will be administered very well.
These differences are even more pronounced among the strongest supporters of the two candidates.
About nine-in-ten of those who strongly back Harris (92%) expect elections across the country to be administered well, including nearly half (46%) who say they will be administered very well.
By comparison, 52% of those who strongly back Trump expect U.S. elections to be administered well; just 8% say they will be administered very well. Nearly half (46%) say they think elections across the country will not be run well.
Widespread confidence in election administration locally
A 92% majority of registered voters say elections in their community will be administered well, including half of voters who say they will be administered very well. The share expressing confidence in election administration in their community is largely unchanged across preelection surveys since 2018.
The share of Harris supporters who say elections in their community will be administered at least somewhat well (97%) is on par with Democratic voters’ views in the last several elections. But the share saying these elections will be administered very well is higher (49% in 2018, 63% today).
A large majority of Trump supporters (88%) also think elections in their community will be administered well.
But these voters are less likely than Harris supporters to say elections in their community will be run very well. The share saying this is lower than it was in 2018, when 56% of voters who supported Republican candidates said elections in their community would be run very well. Today 37% say this, similar to GOP supporters’ views in 2020 and 2022.
Confidence in poll workers, state election officials
Voters are broadly confident that poll workers in their community and officials who run elections in their state will do a good job during the election this November.
But voters supporting Trump are less likely than those supporting Harris to express confidence in these individuals. And Trump supporters’ confidence in poll workers and election administrators is considerably lower than GOP voters’ confidence was in 2018.
Community poll workers
Nine-in-ten registered voters say they are confident that their local poll workers will do a good job, including 48% who are very confident:
- Nearly all Harris supporters (97%) are confident in their local poll workers, virtually identical to the share of Democratic voters who said this in 2018 and 2022. But the share who say they are very confident is up 12 points since 2018 (50% then, 62% today).
- 84% of Trump supporters are confident in their local poll workers to do a good job during this year’s election, including 36% who are very confident. In 2018, 95% of GOP voters expressed confidence in their local poll workers, including 60% who were very confident.
State election officials
- 81% of voters have confidence in officials who run elections in their state to do a good job this November, up slightly from 2022.
- 91% of Harris supporters are confident in state election officials to do a good job. This is up slightly since 2018, when 87% of Democratic voters said this.
- 72% of Trump supporters express confidence in their state election officials to do a good job. This is 15 points lower than the 87% of Republican voters who said this in 2018.
Harris supporters are broadly confident that election officials in their state will do a good job running the election regardless of what party controls the state government, though those living in states where Democrats hold the governorship, the legislature or both are particularly likely to say this.
Trump supporters in states controlled by Republicans are considerably more confident in their state election officials when compared with Trump supporters who live in other states.
- Nearly all Harris supporters in Democratic-controlled states (94%) say they are confident in election officials, including 51% who are very confident. A smaller majority of Trump supporters in Democratic states (57%) are confident in officials, with just 12% saying they are very confident.
- The pattern is roughly similar in states where control of the government is divided between the two parties: Confidence in state election officials is much higher among Harris supporters living in these states than among Trump supporters in these states.
- In states with a Republican governor, a GOP-controlled legislature or both, nearly identical shares of Harris (84%) and Trump (87%) supporters say they are confident that state election officials will do a good job in November.
Are the parties committed to fair and accurate elections?
Overall, 59% of registered voters say the Democratic Party is committed to making sure elections in the U.S. are fair and accurate, while a nearly identical share of voters (58%) say this about the Republican Party.
But these views largely fall out along partisan lines.
More than nine-in-ten Harris supporters (94%) say the Democratic Party is committed to making sure elections are fair, including 58% who say the party is very committed to this.
In contrast, 88% of Trump supporters say the GOP is committed to making elections fair.
And while about seven-in-ten among both Harris and Trump supporters say the opposing party is not committed to making elections fair, Trump supporters are more likely to say that the Democratic Party is not at all committed (47%) than Harris supporters are to say this about the GOP (39%).
Overall, about a quarter of all voters (27%) say both parties are committed to making elections fair and accurate, with roughly equal shares of people saying only the Democratic Party (32%) or only the Republican Party (30%) are committed to doing this. About one-in-ten voters (9%) say neither party is committed to making elections fair and accurate.
GOP confidence in absentee ballot counts remains low
In-person ballots
More than eight-in-ten registered voters (85%) say they are very or somewhat confident that vote cast in person at polling places will be counted as voters intend in this November’s election. This is on par with the share who said this in 2022, but down somewhat from 2020, when 91% expressed confidence.
Since 2020, Trump supporters have become less confident that votes cast in person will be counted as intended. Today, 77% of Trump supporters are confident these votes will be counted accurately, including 24% who are very confident. The share expressing confidence in in-person vote counts is 15 points lower than in 2020; that year, 92% said they were confident, including 48% who were very confident.
Absentee and mail-in ballots
About six-in-ten voters (61%) say they are confident absentee and mail-in ballots will be counted accurately in November, including a quarter who say they are very confident. The share saying this is virtually the same as in 2020.
As in 2020, Democratic voters are far more confident than Republican voters that the count of absentee ballots will be accurate: Today, 85% Harris supporters are confident these votes will be counted as intended, while just 38% of Trump supporters say this.
Mail and absentee voters are more confident than other voters in mail-in vote counts
Voters who intend to cast an absentee or mail-in ballot are much more confident that votes cast this way will be counted accurately than are voters who intend to cast a ballot in person. This gap in confidence is particularly pronounced among Trump supporters.
- Two-thirds of Trump supporters who plan to vote absentee (or have already done so) are confident that absentee ballots will be counted as intended. Just 32% of Trump supporters who plan to vote in person say they have confidence that absentee ballots will be counted as voters intended.
- Most Harris supporters express confidence that absentee and mail-in ballots will be counted as voters intended, but those who plan to vote absentee are more likely to say this than those who plan to vote in person (93% vs. 80).
Among both Harris and Trump supporters, confidence in the accuracy of the count of votes cast in person does not vary by the voter’s intended method of voting.
