Confidence that votes for president will be accurately cast and counted has dropped significantly since 2016, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. And as the coronavirus pandemic enters its sixth month of changing nearly every aspect of American life, the poll also finds a majority of voters prefer to cast their ballots before Election Day, far more than have ever done so in previous presidential elections.
A majority of Americans (55%) say they don’t think President Donald Trump will concede should he lose. A slightly larger majority said that in 2016 (61%), but Trump was not a sitting president then. There is near unanimity, though, that once all states have certified their votes for president, the loser should accept the results and concede (87% feel that way, up from 77% in October 2016).
A sizable minority (36%) say their confidence in the count will be diminished if a winner cannot be determined on election night because it is taking longer than usual to count, a prospect that is increasingly likely as larger shares of the public turn to by-mail ballots to cast their votes.