Sizable sliver ‘not prepared’ to accept election result
A new Franklin Pierce University-Boston Herald poll shows double-digit percentages of Americans say they’re “not prepared” to accept the outcome of either President Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden winning the election.
The national poll released Tuesday shows 70.6% of people saying they are prepared to accept the results if Trump wins, with 14.1% saying they are “not prepared” to do so, and 13.5% volunteered that they’re unsure. In the opposite situation, 78.9% said they are prepared to accept a Biden win, with 10.7% saying they are not, and 9.3% volunteering that they’re unsure.
The FPU-Herald poll surveyed 1,003 registered, likely voters across the country from Sept. 30 through Oct. 4 — last Wednesday through Sunday. The poll, of people reached via cellphones, landlines and the internet, has a margin of error of 3.1%.
The first two days of the poll came before Trump’s shocking announcement shortly before 1 a.m. Friday that he’d tested positive for coronavirus, and the final three came after it. Global Marketing Research Services, who conducted the poll, recorded 383 responses in those first two days, and 620 in the final three.
Key takeaways from the poll include:
Interest is very high in the election. Asked how much they’re keeping track of the presidential race, 54.8% of respondents said they’re “very closely” paying attention, while 25.8% are doing so “moderately closely” and 15.9% said they’re “only somewhat closely” following it.
Those numbers are further underscored by how many said they watched the first presidential debate last week: 73.2% said they had tuned in, while 25.7% had not. Of the people who watched, 48.6% said Biden won the debate, and 26.3% said Trump did.
Voters disapprove of Trump’s job performance — especially after he caught the virus.
Trump had a 42.8% approval rating in the poll — 26.3% who “strongly” approve and 16.5% who “moderately” feel the same. On the flip side, 53.5% of likely voters disapprove of Trump, with 44.5% doing so “strongly” and 9% “moderately.”
These numbers shifted for the worse following Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis. Among the people who answered beforehand, 46.2% approved and 49.1% disapproved. Among those interviewed after he tested positive, 40.7% approved, and 56.1% disapproved.
Americans do have some confidence in this election.
Respondents do show a little faith in the American electoral system, with 82.0% saying they’re either “very” or “somewhat” confident their vote will be counted and treated accurately — and 51.6% of those being in the most-confident camp. Another 10.7% said they’re not very confident, and 5.5% said they’re “not confident at all.”
On a question about whether people agree that the electoral and political systems are “rigged and biased,” 52.0% of people said they disagreed, and 42.6% said they agreed.
Many people plan on voting by mail.
A sizable number of voters, 42.9%, plan to vote by mail-in or absentee ballot. Another 24.5% intend to vote early in person, while 30.7% plan on heading to the polls on Election Day.