Campaign Action
One of the key efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin in undermining the U.S. is sowing uncertainty in the populace about our institutions. Following the 2016 election and subsequent stonewalling by Republicans, it appears Putin's plan is working when it comes to our elections. A C-SPAN/Ipsos poll finds that just 53% of the general population of adults "are confident that the 2020 presidential election will be open and fair."
What's more, a good-sized majority—58%—believe foreign governments pose a threat to our elections. Just 31% say they are "confident that the government has done enough to protect elections from foreign interference." There's a partisan breakdown on all of this, but it's not a big majority of Republicans who have confidence that government has done enough to protect our elections—54% of Republicans, compared to 16% of Democrats and 27% of independents.
"Right now, there is a crisis of confidence affecting our democracy," said Cliff Young, President of Ipsos. "By and large, the American people do not believe our elections are safe from foreign interference, and there is vast partisan disagreement over whether the next election will be open and fair. Whether this lack of confidence can be repaired before next November remains to be seen."
And that is up to one person: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He could choose any day to bring up the election protection legislation that the House passed months ago. Astoundingly, the leader of the Senate doesn't give a particular damn about the cornerstone of our democracy—free and fair elections—being corrupted by a foreign adversary. He proved that once already, in 2016. As always, the way to make it happen is by continuing to raise hell about it and threaten McConnell's majority.