A Not-So-Surprising Percentage Of Americans Think The Election Will Be ‘Free And Fair’
Will the 2020 election be rigged? According to a recent survey, a significant majority of Americans seem to think so. But are these fears based on reality or narrative?
A recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll revealed that only 22 percent of Americans believe that the presidential election will be “free and fair.” The study conducted between Sept. 15 – 17 showed that people of all political stripes are uncertain about the fairness of the upcoming election.
From Yahoo:
“Half of Trump supporters (50 percent) say the election will not be free and fair; more than a third of Biden supporters (37 percent) agree. Overall, the number of Americans who say the election will not be free and fair (46 percent) is more than twice the number who say the opposite. Another third (32 percent) say they’re not sure what to expect.”
Another question asked whether or not respondents believed experts on the possibility of rigging a presidential election. When asked: “Election-security experts say a U.S. presidential election cannot be rigged. Do you believe them?” Fifty-seven percent answered “no.”
Yahoo also pointed out that the majority of respondents think there will be fraud in the election. “A full 60 percent, meanwhile, believe at least some fraud will occur,” they said.
The American public’s opinion on the matter contradicts the evidence and experts’ findings. Michael Adams, a law adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, told Yahoo that it is unlikely that an election can be rigged. “You’re not going to see widespread fraud in a presidential or a Senate or a governor’s race,” he insisted. “It’s just not feasible. And it hasn’t been [feasible] in 70 or 80 years.”
Nevertheless, the public remains skeptical — the reason why is not difficult to discern. Media figures and politicians on both sides are intimating that the opposition will somehow compromise this election. In fact, it is for this reason that the losing side will likely contest the election results.
If President Trump loses his re-election bid, Republicans will allege that Democrats engaged in widespread voter fraud to swing the results. The debate over mail-in ballots is already raging, and some have already presumed that the left will use these ballots to cheat.
On the other hand, if Biden loses the race, Democrats will accuse the Republicans of conducting a massive voter suppression campaign that prevented certain groups of people from voting. Predictably, they will claim that the votes of minorities were suppressed so that they can throw in some good ol’ fashioned race-baiting into the mix.
Of course, we can’t forget the foreign interference angle. It has already been established that Russia is attempting to meddle in the U.S. elections as they did in 2016. Democrats have expressed concern that the Kremlin is trying to prevent their party from regaining control of the Senate.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) asserted that Moscow is actively trying to undermine several Democrats seeking office campaigns. “You’ve got the intelligence leadership saying the Russians are working very hard to do in 2020 what they tried to do in 2016. That’s the big tell,” he told The Hill.
But let’s not forget China, which has been found to be engaging in a similar campaign as the Russians. The difference? They are trying to boost Biden and diminish Trump. This means we have two world powers who are trying to swing the 2020 election in their favor. When the election is contested, there can be no doubt that the losing side will also point to the role of foreign nations in trying to influence the American public.
Whether it’s voter suppression, voter fraud, or foreign influence, it is clear that the nation is in for a tense standoff after election day. The question is, will the losing side have enough evidence to support its claims?
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Follow me on Twitter: @JeffOnTheRight
