Most say unwillingness to accept election outcomes a major problem: Survey

Featured Video: Can a candidate be replaced after winning the presidential primary?

(The Hill) — Most U.S. adults say an unwillingness among some to accept election outcomes is a “major problem for America,” according to a poll released Thursday.

In the Monmouth University poll, conducted June 6-10, 58 percent of U.S. adults agree with this assessment — including 74 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of independents.

Among Republican respondents, nearly half (46 percent) agree that an unwillingness to accept election results is a major problem for the country.

The survey comes just days ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where former President Trump will be officially nominated to lead the GOP presidential ticket, after securing the necessary number of delegates in the primary contests.

Trump still says the 2020 election was fraudulently decided in President Biden’s favor — despite the numerous recounts and investigations that concluded otherwise and found no meaningful evidence of fraud that would have changed the results of the election.

As Trump mounts his third bid for the White House, he has already begun to sow seeds of doubt about the potential for an illegitimate election outcome in November. Trump has said for months that a Biden victory in November would suggest something nefarious afoot — saying Biden is such a weak candidate there is no way he could win legitimately.

The Republicans on Trump’s shortlist to be his vice-presidential pick have taken cues from the former president.

In television interviews, journalists frequently press the VP hopefuls to commit to accepting the 2024 election results, regardless of who wins. The responses often include caveats — with some, like North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), saying they will accept the results as long as they are “free and fair.” Others, like Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), dodge the question and instead stress their confidence in a Trump victory.

“The American people will make the decision, and the decision will be for President Trump,” Scott said in May, after sidestepping the question at least three separate times in the interview.

The recent poll included phone interviews with 1,106 U.S. adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.