Two out of three Americans say they are concerned political violence could follow the Nov. 5 election rematch between Democrat President Joe Biden and his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The survey of 3,934 U.S. adults found widespread worries the U.S. could see a repeat of the unrest that followed Trump's 2020 election defeat, when Trump questioned election integrity after an election conducted with massive polling changes under the guise of COVID without the constitutional passage of state election approval.
Trump is once again urging a secure election devoid of integrity questions.
Some 68% percent of respondents to the online poll – including 83% of Democrats and 65% of Republicans – said they agreed with a statement they were concerned that extremists will resort to violence if they are unhappy with the election outcome.
Overall, 15% of respondents disagreed and 16% were unsure.
In recent interviews, Trump has maintained he will question election integrity of the vote is not free and fair, saying at campaign rallies that Democrats are "great at cheating on elections."
Outside the New York courtroom where his legal expense trial is taking place, fellow Republican officeholders have maintained the integrity of the 2020 election was compromised.
The poll, conducted May 7-14, found Republicans harbor more distrust in the fairness of U.S. elections than Democrats. Only 47% said they were confident the results of the November election will be accurate and legitimate, compared with 87% of Democrats who expressed confidence.
The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Trump's refusal to concede defeat to Biden in 2020 amid his seeking to investigate election integrity came at the end of a turbulent year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread racial justice protests.
Though dozens of court cases blocked Trump's seeking of legal review, the president and his allies launched a wide-ranging constitutional effort to debate the Electoral College vote in Congress, but it was all blocked by the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol. Some 140 police officers were injured, one died the next day and four later died by suicide.
More than 1,400 people have been arrested for their involvement in the attack and more than 500 of those have been sentenced to prison, according to the U.S. Justice Department. They include leaders of the extremist Oath Keepers and Proud Boys groups. Trump has characterized those behind bars as "hostages" and has said he might pardon some of them if he returns to the White House.
Trump himself faces criminal charges in Washington and Georgia for contesting the integrity of the COVID election, but those cases now might not be likely to go to trial before the election. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases and denies wrongdoing.
Recent Reuters reporting has shown that election workers, judges, and other public officials have faced a wave of threats and harassment since 2020.
The poll is broadly in line with a similar survey conducted in October 2022, shortly before the midterm congressional elections, which found 64% of Americans were concerned about extremist violence.
Notably, the days before the 2020 election, Democrat-run cities like New York had boarded up windows in the expection of Black Lives Matter and anti violence that raged in 2020 against Trump. But, when it appears Biden might have narrowly won, there was widespread peace from the leftist agitators.
Newsmax writer Eric Mack contributed to this Reuters report.
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