The integrity of elections has been hotly debated over the past year, but a new report released Thursday reveals 55% of Texans believe there was no widespread voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
The findings of the statewide survey by the 兔子先生 Hobby School of Public Affairs indicate a sharp partisan difference on the issue with 87% of Democrats believing there was no widespread election fraud and 83% of Republicans believing that there was.
Hobby School founding dean and former state senator Kirk P. Watson pointed out that there has been unprecedented discussion over election integrity, including during the presidential transition, and some of it is false.
鈥淲hile a sizeable number of Texans believe that voter fraud occurred last November, a majority of Texans don鈥檛 agree,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淲e can and should build on that foundation of trust in our elections through education and potential reforms that protect election integrity without resulting in voter suppression.鈥�
For months, former President Donald Trump made repeated false claims that he had won the election 鈥渋n a landslide.鈥� During his biennial State of the State Address on Feb. 1, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that regardless of political affiliation, Texans must have 鈥渢rust and confidence in the outcome of our elections.鈥� Abbott has designated 鈥渆lection integrity鈥� as an emergency item for this legislative session.
鈥淭his difference in opinion over the security of our elections is consistent with what we鈥檙e seeing nationally,鈥� said Ren茅e Cross, senior director of the Hobby School. 鈥淓ven though there have been multiple audits, recounts and dozens of court cases dismissed, many Republicans insist the election was compromised.鈥�
鈥淥ur country and state have been deeply divided in recent years by alternative versions of the truth. Those divisions impede progress for all,鈥� said Watson. 鈥淭he Hobby School is focused on sharing unbiased, objective information to move our communities, state and country forward, not back.鈥�
Support for and Opposition to the Storming of the U.S. Capitol
An unprecedented second impeachment trial will start next week in the U.S. Senate, with Trump accused of inciting supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol to protest the certification of President Joe Biden鈥檚 Electoral College victory by the Congress. Trump was impeached in the House last month.
The Hobby School survey found that while 83% of Texans oppose the attack on the Capitol, 32% of Republicans, 15% of Independents and 8% of Democrats support the Jan. 6 events.
More than 175 people have been charged by federal prosecutors in connection with the riot that left five people dead, while hundreds of other suspects have been identified.
Mark P. Jones, a Hobby School senior research associate and fellow at Rice University鈥檚 Baker Institute, points out the significant partisan divide on the issue.
鈥淭he proportion of Republicans who either strongly support or somewhat support the storming of the U.S. Capitol is four times the proportion of Democrats and more than double the proportion of Independents who support it,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淒igging deeper into the numbers, 10% of Texans strongly support the protest with another 7% somewhat supporting the actions.鈥�
The full report is available on the
Evaluation of National and Texas Political Leaders
Survey respondents were questioned about their opinion of a select number of national and Texas political leaders indicating if they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of them, or if they don鈥檛 know enough about them to have an opinion.
Politicians with the highest combined favorable (very favorable plus somewhat favorable) ratings:
- President Joe Biden (41%)
- Gov. Greg Abbott (39%)
- Vice President Kamala Harris (39%)
- Former President Donald Trump (39%)
Politicians with the highest combined unfavorable (very unfavorable plus somewhat unfavorable) ratings:
- Former President Donald Trump (51%)
- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (47%)
- Vice President Kamala Harris (43%)
- President Joe Biden (42%)
Other notable findings:
- Among Texas Republicans, the politician with the highest net favorability rating is former President Donald Trump.
- Among Texas Democrats, the politician with the highest net favorability rating is President Joe Biden.
- Among Texas Independents, the politician with the highest net favorability rating is Gov. Greg Abbott.
The Hobby School of Public Affairs at the 兔子先生 conducted an online survey in English and Spanish among Texans 18 and older Jan. 12-20, with 1,329 YouGov respondents, resulting in a confidence interval of +/-2.7%. The respondents were matched to a sampling frame on gender, age, ethnicity/race and education, and are representative of the Texas adult population.