Majority of Americans concerned democracy is in trouble, new poll shows

More than half of Americans believe U.S. democracy is in trouble, and many conservatives believe only new voting restrictions will fix it, according to a national Gallup poll.

The overall survey findings, released Wednesday, suggest that Americans, particularly conservatives, are growing less satisfied with, and increasingly critical of, U.S. democratic institutions and processes.

To fix U.S. democracy, many people proposed election reform. While Democrats focused on ways to expand voter access, Republicans primarily proposed changes that would make voting more difficult. 

Republicans were also slightly more likely to mention election reforms than Democrats and independents.

The report also suggested Republicans are internalizing President Donald Trump’s baseless voting fraud claims, as they were far more likely to harbor distrust of election officials.

“More than four in 10 Republicans now believe it is reasonable to assume election officials acted improperly when election outcomes are surprising,” the report reads.

The pessimistic findings come just weeks before millions of people head to the polls to cast ballots this fall. They also correlate with Trump’s attacks on voting in the lead-up to the midterms.

For the survey, Gallup and the Kettering Foundation polled more than 23,000 U.S. adults from April 24 through June 10.

56% of U.S. adults polled said they feared U.S. democracy is functioning “very” or “moderately” poorly, marking a notable four-percentage-point decline in confidence in the country’s system of government over the past year.

While two-thirds of Americans “strongly agree” or “agree” that democracy is the best form of government, the survey found that only 19% think U.S. democracy is doing “very” or “moderately” well.

The survey found most shifts in opinion occurred among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, noting a 10-point decline — from 47% in 2025 to 37% in 2026 — in the percentage of Republicans who said democracy was performing well. 

Democrats, Democratic leaders and non-leaning independents remained more stable between 2025 and 2026 on this question.

“Solid majorities of these political party groups continue to believe democracy is performing poorly, compared with the roughly one-third of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who now agree,” the survey results state.

When respondents were asked in an open-ended question to describe one thing that could improve American democracy in the future, election reform was one of the top two responses, mentioned by 13% of adults surveyed. 

About 16% of Republicans surveyed identified electoral reforms as a way to improve American democracy compared to 10% from Democrats and 12% from independents. Democrats were more likely to mention changing U.S. leadership as a way to improve democracy. 

On the other hand, Republicans largely proposed requiring voters to show photo identification when they cast ballots, a restriction that would make voting harder for millions of citizens.

Voter identification laws have been decried by voting rights advocates as a form of voter suppression, stating it could disenfranchise eligible voters who don’t have access to documents like a passport or birth certificate. 

Advocates have similarly opposed the SAVE America Act, a Republican-backed bill that would require voters to provide proof of citizenship and a photo ID to vote. 

Now, 33% of U.S. adults agree it is reasonable to assume that election officials acted improperly when election results are surprising, up from 29% last year. This attitude is primarily seen among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, with more than four in 10 Republicans answering it is reasonable to assume election officials acted improperly when outcomes are surprising. 

Older Republicans specifically are significantly less trusting of election officials than last year, with 42% agreeing it is reasonable to assume election officials acted improperly when outcomes are surprising, up from 30%. Younger Republicans, who were less trusting than older Republicans in 2025, showed no meaningful change this year.

“Now, all age groups of Republicans fall between 42% and 45% agreement on this item,” the report states. 

This increased distrust in election officials may be tied to continued efforts by Trump and his allies to cast doubt on the 2020 election by promoting false claims that it was stolen.

These findings come as Republicans continue their attempts to redraw electoral maps to give GOP candidates a leg up, undermining the will of voters. A recent report found one in 10 Americans are in new House districts, with Project Democracy concluding that rampant redistricting has resulted in voters losing faith in U.S. democracy. 

Americans have also grown more pessimistic when it comes to questions like whether U.S. leaders are committed to having a strong democracy or if U.S. leaders are being held accountable to laws and the Constitution. 

The survey findings highlighted U.S. adults’ declining trust that political leaders are being held accountable to laws and the Constitution, with just 28% of respondents answering that they trust leaders are being held accountable. 

Almost six in 10 Americans expressed concern that the executive branch is too powerful, far more than the 38% who said so about the judicial branch and 34% who said it about the legislative branch. 

This survey highlights a “central tension” in how Americans experience democracy, with an increasing majority becoming critical of how democracy is functioning in the U.S. The report states that ensuring democracy fulfills its promise will require stronger institutional performance and greater accountability for political leaders. Americans’ own recommendations mirror these conclusions.

“As confidence in the functioning of key democratic institutions declines, Americans’ own recommendations for improving democracy reinforce these priorities, with many calling for new elected leaders, reforms to the electoral system and greater opportunities for citizen input,” the report states.

Derek Barker, a senior program officer for research initiatives at the Kettering Foundation, told Democracy Docket this survey shows that people are frustrated with democracy. He said the concerns expressed by Americans highlighted in the survey should be a warning and “wake-up call” for national leaders. 

Barker said candidates gunning for office in the midterm election should take this survey as a call from Americans to add reforms to restore trust in democracy to their agenda should they be elected.

“It’s also time to start thinking about potential reforms that would address some of the concerns,” Barker said.