New state poll finds that Georgia Republicans and conservatives have confidence in the vote, and don’t consider election security a top concern going into 2024. Click to read our Arizona and Wisconsin findings.
WASHINGTON – March 27, 2024 – Most Georgia Republicans and conservative-leaning independents say they’re happy with how elections are run in the state, and have confidence in election officials to count votes freely and fairly. This is according to a new state poll conducted by the Secure Elections Project, which also found that a majority do not believe election security is a top concern heading into 2024.
When asked to rank issues by priority, respondents scored election security below such issues as the economy and immigration:
Image Credit: New Bridge Strategy.
In Georgia, 67 percent of Republicans and conservative-leaning independents are satisfied with the state’s system of elections. One in-state respondent said, “Our election process is solid. We have checks and balances in place to make sure we have a fair election and all citizens are able to vote the way they choose.”
Image Credit: New Bridge Strategy.
The vast majority of Georgia respondents — 91 percent — voted in-person in the last election in which they participated. This is in contrast to other swing states surveyed as part of this series, like Arizona, which saw a much higher rate of mail-in voting. This is likely due to a more well-established tradition of absentee voting that goes back several election cycles:
Image Credit: New Bridge Strategy.
At the same time, 65 percent of these voters say they believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, consistent with the national average for Republicans and conservatives. Still, 84 percent of Georgia Republicans and conservative-leaning independents agree with the statement “my vote counts,” suggesting that — while they agree with broader national political narratives around fraud and the 2020 election — they are broadly satisfied with how elections are administered locally:
Image Credit: New Bridge Strategy.
As more and more red states are opting to withdraw from ERIC, the Electronic Registration Information Center, broad majorities said they support programs like this, which the poll describes as “a multi-state crosscheck program that compares voter information in order to ensure nobody votes more than once.” In Georgia, fully 94 percent said they support such a program. And even when respondents were told that this system would include blue states, most still said they support it:
Image Credit: New Bridge Strategy.
And most Georgia respondents support the restoration of voting rights for people who have been convicted of felonies and have served their time:
Image Credit: New Bridge Strategy.
Overall, we found that Georgia Republicans and conservative-leaning independents consider election security to be a mid-tier issue, less important than immigration and economics. They broadly trust and have confidence in their state and local election officials to freely and fairly tally votes, and they feel that their vote counts. They also support inter-state programs to keep voter rolls clean. But they still sign onto broader narratives of “fraud” driven by national political leaders, which has featured notably in the state’s politics in recent years.
To be connected with Secure Elections Project spokespeople to discuss the poll and the broader issue of confidence in elections among Georgians, please contact Tony Franquiz at 443-243-6366 or comms@secureelectionsproject.org.
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Note on Methodology: This poll was commissioned by the Secure Elections Project and conducted by New Bridge Strategy from January 18 – 24, 2024. The sample size was 304. All respondents self-identified as Republicans or conservative-leaning independents. The credibility interval is ±6.41 percent.