Trust in Elections
Name
daed_a_01953.pdf
Description
Accepted version
Size
1.11 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
2297e40d84049cea3c84898e8c25ab7b
Author(s)
Stewart, Charles
Date Issued
November 15, 2022
Journal
Daedalus
Publisher
MIT Press
Citation
Charles Stewart; Trust in Elections. Daedalus 2022; 151 (4): 234–253.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The sometimes violent movement to reject the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election draws our attention to the topic of trust in the institution of American election administration. An examination of this topic must make an important distinction between trust in elections (a psychological construct) and the trustworthiness of election results (a legal construct). The history of election administration in the United States is full of examples of efforts to increase the trustworthiness of elections to ensure that results are based on fair and competent administration. The resilience of these efforts was on display following the 2020 election, as formal institutions rejected claims that the election was fraudulent. Still, the past two decades have seen a decline in trust in American elections that has primarily been driven by a slow but steady decline in trust among Republicans. Surprisingly, the increased polarization in trust most recently has been due more to Democrats suddenly becoming more trusting. Election officials must continue to try to overcome attacks on trust in the system, but it is unclear how long they can sustain the legal system guaranteeing free and fair elections without broad-based public trust in how we administer elections.
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_01953
