News / Politics

Majority of Americans lack trust in US elections: Gallup poll

Thursday, 13 February 2020 6:13 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 13 February 2020 6:40 PM ]

A voter exits the voting booth after filling out their ballot during the presidential primary on February 11, 2020 in Concord, New Hampshire. (Getty Images)

As the US heads into the 2020 presidential election, about six in 10 Americans are not confident in the honesty of US elections, one of the worst ratings across the world's wealthiest democracies, according to a new poll.

Nearly 60 percent of Americans say they lack faith in the honesty of American elections, while 40 percent say they have faith, the Gallup poll released on Thursday found.

Of 32 countries included in the Gallup poll, the US ranked 29 when it comes to distrust in elections. Only the citizens of Chile and Mexico had less confidence.

Female voters are less likely to have faith in elections, with 65 percent saying they don't have confidence in their honesty, compared to 54 percent of male voters.

The last time the majority of Americans had faith in their elections was in 2009.

“Americans' doubts about their elections are not new. Majorities of Americans have consistently lacked confidence in the honesty of elections every year since 2012,” Gallup said.

“The recent Iowa Caucuses are an example of the types of events that can shake Americans' faith in the election process and the legitimacy of the winners of elections,” it added.

Trump calls Russia election meddling allegations a 'big hoax’

After a chaotic week that required the White House to do a lot of damage control, President Donald Trump has once again stirred controversy by calling US allegations against Russia “a big hoax.”

Russia ‘absolutely intent’ on interfering in US elections: FBI director

FBI Director Christopher Wray said in July that Russia is determined to interfere in the next US presidential election in 2020 despite US sanctions and other efforts to deter such actions.

"The Russians are absolutely intent on trying to interfere with our elections through the foreign influence," Wray testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

US intelligence agencies have claimed Russia meddled in the 2016 election with a campaign of email hacking and online propaganda aimed at sowing discord in the United States and helping Donald Trump win the US presidential election.

Both Trump and Moscow have repeatedly denied the accusations.

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