The Gallup poll exposed deep and historic partisan divisions over confidence in the nation’s elections.
Published October 7, 2026
With less than a month to go until America’s pivotal midterm elections, a new survey finds that most independent voters and supporters of President Donald Trump’s Republican Party do not believe the elections will be fair.
A Gallup poll released Wednesday found that 37% of Republicans and 35% of independents have confidence in the country’s election system, significantly lower than U.S. Democrats (63%).
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Overall, 49 percent of Americans said they were confident in the integrity of elections, while 51 percent said they were not confident. These numbers are unchanged from the country’s last midterm elections in 2022.
This “represents a change from 2025, the first year of President Trump’s second term, when confidence among Trump supporters (51%) was nominally higher than among disapprovers (45%),” Gallup said in a statement highlighting the findings.
The numbers highlight historic partisan divides over confidence in U.S. elections.
“Since 2025 and President Trump’s return to the White House, the link between leadership approval and election confidence has disappeared,” Gallup writes.
Gallup said the U.S. is the only country in its poll of more than 100 countries conducted annually over the past 15 years to show this pattern. Those who disapprove of the country’s leadership under Trump (52%) have significantly higher confidence in the integrity of U.S. elections than those who do (41%).
In more than 100 countries where public opinion polling organizations survey views on national leadership and trust in elections, people who support their governments are generally more likely to trust their elections.
In 2025, 70 percent of people who support the world’s national leaders express confidence in the integrity of elections, compared to 30 percent who disapprove.
“The current U.S. pattern is highly unusual compared to the rest of the world,” Gallup writes.
Under former U.S. President Joe Biden, 81 percent of Americans who supported the government expressed confidence in the election, compared to just 30 percent who disapproved, according to Gallup.
Gallup said the unusual split could affect November’s election, raising questions about whether some voters will view the results as legitimate.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
