Gallup Poll Reveals Historic Partisan Divide Over US Election Confidence

New Gallup data reveals a historic partisan rift over faith in US electoral systems.

7 Oct 2026

With less than a month until the pivotal US midterms, a new survey indicates that most independent voters and Trump-supporting Republicans doubt the integrity of the elections.

Gallup data released Wednesday shows 37 percent of Republicans and 35 percent of independents express confidence in the electoral system, well below the 63 percent reported by Democrats.

Overall, 49 percent of Americans expressed confidence in election integrity, while 51 percent did not—figures consistent with the 2022 midterms.

This represents a shift from 2025, Trump’s first year back in office, when confidence was slightly higher among administration supporters (51 percent) than detractors (45 percent), according to Gallup.

The data underscores a deep and historic partisan divide over confidence in US elections.

“Since 2025 and Trump’s return to the White House, the link between leadership approval and election confidence has vanished,” Gallup noted.

Gallup identified the US as the only country among more than 100 tracked annually over the past 15 years to exhibit this pattern: trust in election integrity is significantly higher among those who disapprove of Trump’s leadership (52 percent) than among his supporters (41 percent).

In over 100 countries where the polling organisation tracks national leadership approval and election confidence, citizens who support their government typically express greater trust in electoral systems.

Globally in 2025, 70 percent of those who approved of their national leadership trusted their elections, compared with 30 percent of dissenters.

“The current US pattern is highly unusual relative to the rest of the world,” Gallup wrote.

Under former President Joe Biden, 81 percent of government approvers expressed election confidence, versus just 30 percent of detractors, per Gallup.

Gallup warns the unusual divide could affect November’s elections, raising concerns about whether some voters will accept the results as legitimate.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

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