US Republicans, independents express low trust in election integrity: Poll

What the report says

A new Gallup survey released Wednesday found that confidence in the integrity of US elections remains sharply split along partisan lines, with Republicans and independents far less trusting than Democrats. According to Al Jazeera’s report, 37% of Republicans and 35% of independents said they have confidence in the country’s electoral system, compared with 63% of Democrats.

Overall, 49% of Americans said they trust the honesty of elections, while 51% said they do not. Gallup said those figures are unchanged from the 2022 midterm cycle, but the pattern has shifted since 2025, the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, when election confidence tracked more closely with approval of national leadership. The polling firm said that relationship has since disappeared in the United States.

Gallup also said the US is unusual compared with more than 100 countries it tracks, where people who approve of their government typically express greater confidence in elections. In the US case, those who disapprove of Trump’s leadership reported higher trust in election integrity than those who approve, a reversal Gallup described as highly atypical.

With less than a month before the midterms, the findings matter because doubts about election legitimacy can affect how voters interpret results. Al Jazeera noted that the White House did not respond to a request for comment.