Americans are concerned about foreign interference
Most Americans are concerned at least somewhat by the potential for foreign interference in November’s election, and a majority believes that Russia sought in 2016 to influence the outcome of that race, according to a new poll that underscores the anxiety and political divisions heading into the final weeks of the presidential contest.
The poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that about threequarters of Americans are at least somewhat concerned about interference, whether in the form of tampering with voting systems and election results, stealing data from candidates or parties or influencing the candidates themselves or the way voters think about them. Still, no more than half are “extremely” or “very” concerned about each of those possibilities.
The poll was taken as intelligence officials warn of ongoing efforts by foreign adversaries to interfere in American politics, including a concerted Russian effort to denigrate Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers last month that Russia was continuing to use social media to try to influence the election, though he said officials had not seen targeting of voting system infrastructure.
The extent of concerns about 2020 election interference breaks largely along partisan lines, with 68% of Biden supporters saying they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about foreign countries influencing how Americans perceive the candidates, according to the poll. Among supporters of President Donald Trump, 30% are extremely or very concerned, with 29% saying they are somewhat concerned.
Foreign interference, or influence, could theoretically take many shapes. Besides meddling with voting systems — which officials say would be hard to do in such a way as to materially affect results — or shaping voters’ perception of the candidates, there are also potential concerns about stealing information from a candidate or party or influencing candidates themselves.
Forty-six percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s relationship with Russia, compared with 26% who approve. .
A slim majority of Trump supporters, 55%, approve of how Trump is dealing with Russia, with just 7% disapproving. Among Biden backers, 84% say they disapprove.
Trump has said he has been tougher than anyone on Russia, but Democrats have criticized him for what they see as his failure to publicly call out Russian President Vladimir Putin for election interference or to even embrace the intelligence community’s findings that Russia meddled in 2016.