Georgetown Poll: 81 Percent Say Democracy Is Threatened

(Dreamstime)

An overwhelming 81% majority of voters said that American democracy is currently being threatened, according to a new poll from the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service.

The latest Battleground Civility Poll, conducted by Republican pollsters from Tarrance Group and Democrat pollsters from Lake Research Partners, found that, of the 81% of respondents who say democracy in America is under threat, 72% strongly agreed with that statement.

When asked about people, organizations and groups that pose a threat to democracy, 38% said Donald Trump is an extremely serious threat, while 13% each said he was a very serious or somewhat serious threat. Thirty-five percent said Trump was not a serious threat to democracy at all.

According to the survey, MAGA Republicans were considered an extremely serious threat to democracy by 34%, a very serious threat by 15%, and a somewhat serious threat by 16%. Thirty-one percent did not consider MAGA Republicans a threat to democracy.

Major news organizations garnered 24% as an extremely serious threat to democracy, while 23% said they were a very serious threat and 37% said they were somewhat serious. Thirteen percent said they were not a serious threat at all.

Republican pollsters from Tarrance Group found that 32% of voters are not at all certain that the 2024 elections will be conducted fairly. By contrast, 19% each are extremely certain and very certain that the 2024 elections will be conducted fairly.

Democrat pollsters from Lake Research Partners observed that voters are least willing to compromise on the issue of abortion, with 54% of voters saying they want their elected leaders to fight for their values, as opposed to 32% who want their leaders to find the best solution possible.

“The faith of voters in our democracy has been shaken but there are reasons for hope,” Mo Elleithee, executive director of the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service, said. “If leaders will work to find common ground and seek out the best solutions, the roots are there to rebuild that lost confidence.”

Among those surveyed, 88% said leaders of different parties can help lower political division by finding compromises together, including 72% who strongly agreed with that statement.

At least 5 in 10 said they would prefer leaders find the best solutions instead of fighting for their values when asked about specific issues such as the budget and national debt (63%), tax credits for families and small businesses (59%), inflation (59%), border security and immigration (58%) and healthcare (56%).

“The axiom that it is always darkest before the dawn seems particularly apt,” Tarrance Group pollster Ed Goeas said. “Voters can see a variety of ways that our democracy can be strengthened. This strengthening will certainly present challenges, but with bold leadership, willingness to compromise, and a more informative and better regulated media, we can see that a morning in America’s political culture can arrive that will provide a much brighter culture to inspire more confidence and optimism in the electorate.”

Lake Research Partners pollster Celinda Lake said, “Voters want to get things done and are worried about the division and threat to democracy that verges on the brink of civil war.”

“Real people come together for a number of broad ranging fixes to reduce those threats including protecting voting rights, elected officials working together, and changes to social media,” she added.

The poll was conducted March 9-14 and surveyed 800 registered likely voters nationwide. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.