Trump Supporters Skeptical Of Vote Counting, Except For Where They Live

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Publish Date:
November 4, 2016
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Roll Call
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Summary

It’s a commonly referenced idiosyncrasy of American politics: Voters can’t stand Congress, even though they’re A-OK with their own representative.

This election cycle, voters taking a cue from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump seem to be applying the same principle to their attitudes on electoral integrity.

It’s a well documented fact that voters are more likely to trust local polling places than those farther away, said Nathaniel Persily, a Stanford professor who studies public opinion of voter fraud in the United States. What’s notable this election are the Republican nominee’s consistent accusations of “rigged” elections, and his emphasis on how people in “other” communities will try to cheat him out of the presidency.

“It’s no surprise that many Republicans think the election is going to be rigged when the person they’re going to vote for says it’s going to be rigged,” Persily said. “Depending on which elites the public trust, they will then incorporate those signals into their attitudes about the process of democracy or the government.”

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