Americans’ qualms with democracy have risen in the past year, but commitment to the U.S. form of government continues to endure amid misgivings, according to a new poll.
A new survey, released Wednesday by Gallup and the pro-democracy group Charles F. Kettering Foundation, finds that Americans’ perceptions of how U.S. democracy is performing have worsened.
But even amid a rise in dissatisfaction with democracy’s current performance, a two-thirds majority holds strong to the idea that the principles of democracy — checks and balances, election integrity and institutional guardrails — are the best form of government.
Ellyn Maese, a senior research consultant for Gallup, said “perceptions that democracy is the best form of government have held steady.”
“I think that is a really powerful testament to the fact that you can have public confidence while still absorbing some of that negativity and dissatisfaction,” she told The Washington Times. “People have not fully lost faith in democracy.”
Over half of adults say democracy is doing “very” or “moderately” poorly in the U.S., with just 19% saying it’s doing well.
The catalyst for the shifts in opinion can be attributed to Republicans and right-leaning independents.
As Democrats and their allies show similar perceptions to last year, Republicans who say democracy is performing well saw a 10-point decline.
Since the 1970s, satisfaction with democracy overall has fallen almost by half, Ms. Maese said, adding that even though a rebound came in the past few years, views are still low compared to where they were half a century ago.
Institutions of power and accountability, including the Supreme Court, the criminal justice system and the three branches of government, are viewed as underperforming.
A majority of Americans believe the executive branch of the federal government has too much power, while just over one-third believe judicial and legislative branches do.
“A lot of the sentiment we do see in that bucket is that people want the current administration out, but it’s also more general feelings of, ’We need younger leaders, we need fresh blood,’” Ms. Maese said.
Younger Democrats are increasingly challenging and ousting the party’s older establishment leadership in a historic generational battle of the ballots, while President Trump’s endorsement of GOP challengers has unseated incumbents.
Democratic socialism in America has seen a rapid rise in political activism, represented by prominent officeholders. While the poll does not tie this movement to lower Democratic satisfaction, Republicans have cautioned against a growing enthusiasm for embracing socialism.
Poor economic experiences, on the other hand, tend to make Americans more inclined to perceive democracy negatively.
Five years after the 2021 attack on the Capitol, more than four in 10 Republicans now believe it is reasonable to assume election officials acted improperly when election outcomes are surprising.
Ms. Maese said she expects post-midterm conversations about democracy to intertwine with whether people are willing to accept the election results, including discourse on voter intimidation, ineligible voting and election security.
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