Broad majorities of TX Republican and conservative voters say they’re confident in the state’s election system, despite thinking Trump won in 2020 and statewide officials’ push for new laws.
WASHINGTON – Most Republican and conservative voters in Texas are confident in the state’s current election administration system and believe that their votes count, according to a new poll released today by the Secure Elections Project, a nonprofit organization that advocates nonpartisan reforms to improve American elections.
The poll surveyed Texas Republicans and conservative-leaning independents. Even though most Republican voters nationally say they believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, the majority of those polled in Texas expressed confidence in the integrity of their state’s election administration. Key findings include:
- 83 percent say they are satisfied with the system of elections and voting in Texas, with 29 percent saying they are “very satisfied.”
- 86 percent have confidence in their local election officials to fairly and accurately count votes and declare a winner, including 31 percent who say they have a “great deal of confidence.”
- Only 13 percent say they have “not much confidence” and just 1 percent say they have “no confidence at all.”
In a separate national poll conducted earlier this year, we found that many people who trust elections say their confidence comes from positive personal experiences with voting and easy access to the polls. One man, a Republican over age 65, said in response to the survey, “More people are voting and waiting less time. Just because my party lost does not mean the system is broken.”
And 77 percent of Texas Republicans/conservatives support automated voter registration, which SEP advocates as a proven means of increasing access to the ballot while safeguarding election integrity and security.
“These numbers show that when you get right down to it, Texas Republicans have a great deal of confidence in their elections being free and fair, even if they don’t always like the outcome,” said Trey Grayson, advisory board co-chair of the Secure Elections Project. “The state legislature should lean into solutions that have shown to be successful in other states, such as automated voter registration, investing in modernizing election technology, and staffing up election administration agencies.”
“Texas conservatives expressed even greater confidence in their local election officials and greater satisfaction with their system of voting than did their conservative counterparts nationally,” said Lori Weigel, principal of New Bridge Strategy, which conducted the survey. “Confidence in local election officials was 18 points higher, and satisfaction was 13 points higher, both well beyond the margin of error.”
To be connected with spokespeople from the Secure Elections Project for comment, please contact Tony Franquiz at 443-243-6366 or franquiz@longwellpartners.com.
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Methodology: This poll was commissioned by the Secure Elections Project and conducted by New Bridge Strategy. It was fielded April 27 – May 2, 2023 and sampled 403 Texas Republicans or conservative-leaning independents.