ATLANTA — A majority of Georgia voters believe President Donald Trump and his legal advocates should end challenges to the 2020 election, according to an exclusive poll commissioned by 11Alive.
The poll, in addition to providing insight on the state of the Senate runoff races, gave a view into the attitudes of voters in what has become one of the most contested states in the country.
It produced a number of remarkable findings that give some sense of how rhetoric around the election is affecting voter attitudes: More than a quarter of respondents, 27%, had little or no confidence that votes in January would be counted accurately. Nearly 40% of Republican respondents said they had little or no confidence, and just 16% of Republicans said they had full confidence.
Among Democrats, 80% had some or full confidence. As for instilling more confidence in the system, nearly two-thirds of respondents - 63% - said voters who submit their ballot by mail should be required to provide their photo ID in order to do so, a measure Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has called for.
Meanwhile, more than a third of respondents who said they wouldn't vote in the runoff said they wouldn't because they either believe their vote doesn't matter, they believe the voting process is rigged or they're intentionally boycotting it.
Perhaps concerning for Democratic challengers Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, though, is that of those who said they weren't likely to vote in the runoffs, 43% were Democrats to just 33% who were Republicans. Among those Democrats, 20% said they didn't like the candidates and 24% said they didn't believe their vote maters.
With regards to the president's election challenges, a solid majority, 55%, felt the president should end legal challenges to the election outcome, against 38% who want him to continue those challenges. Another solid majority, 57%, believe Joe Biden won the 2020 election fair and square, against 32% who believe President Trump actually won, and that votes were manipulated to change the outcome.
And as Gov. Brian Kemp faces continuing criticism from President Trump - including in another tweet posted Thursday morning - his job approval rating stands at 43% of respondents saying they strongly approve or approve. Those who disapproved or strongly disapproved registered at 46%.
Sec. Raffensperger appears to be in a similar situation, with a general approval rating of 44%. His disapproval rating is far lower - 22% - though generally he still has a far lower profile than the governor, with 34% of people saying they were "not sure" about the job he is doing.
In January, Georgia will hold a runoff election for two United States Senate seats. Not everyone makes time to vote in a runoff. Which best describes you? (Credibility Interval: ± 4.4 pct points)
- Will Not Vote 6%
- Not Sure Whether Will Or Won't Vote 9%
- Almost Certain 13%
- Certain 68%
- Not Sure 4%
Should voters who vote by mail in the runoff election be required to submit a copy of their ID? Or not? (Credibility Interval: ± 4.5 pct points)
- Required To Submit ID 63%
- Not Required 27%
- Not Sure 11%
Do you approve? ... Or disapprove? ... Of the job Brian Kemp is doing as Governor? (Credibility Interval: ± 4.7 pct points)
- Strongly Approve 14%
- Approve 29%
- Disapprove 24%
- Strongly Disapprove 22%
- Not Sure 12%
Do you approve? ... Or disapprove? ... Of the job Brad Raffensperger is doing as Secretary of State? (Credibility Interval: ± 4.7 pct points)
- Strongly Approve 12%
- Approve 32%
- Disapprove 13%
- Strongly Disapprove 9%
- Not Sure 34%
How much confidence do you have that votes in the January runoff election will be counted accurately? (Credibility Interval: ± 4.7 pct points)
- Full Confidence 34%
- Some Confidence 32%
- Little Confidence 19%
- No Confidence 6%
- Not Sure 8%
Which of these best describes why you are not voting in the runoff?
(Credibility Interval: ± 11.9 pct points)
- Aren't That Interested 19%
- Don't Have Time 7%
- Don't Believe Your Vote Matters 17%
- Don't Like The Candidates 15%
- The Voting Process Is Rigged 13%
- Intentionally Boycotting The Runoff 5%
- Other Reason 4%
- Not Sure 19%
Should President Trump continue to challenge the outcome of the Presidential election in states across the country? Or should President Trump end his legal challenges and acknowledge that Joe Biden is the next President? (Credibility Interval: ± 4.7 pct points)
- Continue To Challenge 38%
- End His Legal Challenges 55%
- Not Sure 7%
Do you, personally, think Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential election fair and square? Or Donald Trump won the 2020 Presidential election but votes were lost or changed to make it look like Trump lost? (Credibility Interval: ± 4.6 pct points)
- Biden Won Fair And Square 57%
- Trump Won Votes Lost/ Changed 32%
- Not Sure 11%
About this poll: SurveyUSA interviewed 850 voting-age adults representative of the state of Georgia Nov. 27 through Nov. 30. Of the adults, 717 are registered to vote. Of the registered voters, SurveyUSA identified 583 likely to return a ballot on or before the deadline.