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60% View Joe Biden's 2020 Presidential Victory As Legitimate, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; 77% Of Republicans Believe There Was Widespread Voter Fraud

Roughly one month after the presidential election, 60 percent of registered voters say they think President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election is legitimate and 34 percent think his win is not legitimate, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University national poll released today.

There are large partisan gaps. Democrats say 98 - 2 percent they think Biden's election victory is legitimate and independents say 62 - 30 percent his victory is legitimate. Republicans, however, say 70 - 23 percent that they think Biden's victory is not legitimate.

A majority of voters (58 percent) do not believe there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, while 38 percent say they believe there was widespread fraud. Democrats say 97 - 3 percent they believe there was no widespread voter fraud, independents say 62 - 35 percent they believe there was no widespread voter fraud, and Republicans say 77 - 19 percent they believe there was widespread voter fraud.

"Was the election on the level? 'No way' say the vast majority of Republicans. The dearth of Republicans in the House and Senate willing to acknowledge the Biden win is in step with their base," said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy.

THE NEXT FOUR YEARS

More than half of voters (56 percent) say they are generally optimistic about the next four years with Joe Biden as president and 37 percent say they are generally pessimistic. The results are nearly identical to those in 2016 when the same question was posed about then President-elect Donald Trump. In that November 2016 survey, 59 percent said they were optimistic and 37 percent were pessimistic.

A majority of voters (56 percent) say they feel that Joe Biden will do more to unite the country as president, while 39 percent say he will do more to divide the country as president. In November of 2016, voters were split with 47 percent who said Trump would do more to unite the country, and 49 percent who said he would do more to divide the country.

"While Americans are generally optimistic about a post-Trump future, the number of Republicans not willing to embrace the nascent Biden era speaks to the uphill climb the new administration faces the day after Inauguration Day," said Malloy.

Voters are split in their views about whether the country will unite or remain divided moving forward anytime soon. Nearly half (49 percent) of voters say they view the country as divided but it will unite more in the foreseeable future, while 45 percent say they view the country as divided and believe it will remain that way for the foreseeable future.

POLICY ISSUES

Sixty-one percent of voters say they think the Biden administration should urge states to require that everyone wear masks in public, while 37 percent say it should not do that.

A majority of voters (56 percent) say they support the Biden administration re-joining the Paris Agreement, a global pact reached in 2015 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit climate change, while 38 percent oppose that.

When it comes to restarting the nuclear arms agreement with Iran that was reached during the Obama presidency, 46 percent say they do not want the Biden administration to try and restart the agreement with Iran, while 41 percent say they do want to see that happen.

TRUMP PRESIDENCY

Looking back at the past four years, voters were asked to rate Donald Trump as the President of the United States. More than one quarter (28 percent) rate him as a great president, 19 percent rate him as a good president, 11 percent rate him as a not so good president, and 40 percent rate him as a bad president.

In November of 2016, as President Barack Obama was winding down his time in the Oval Office, 22 percent rated him as a great president, 33 percent rated him as a good president, 23 percent rated him as a not so good president, and 22 percent rated him as a bad president.

When it comes to the way President Trump is handling his job as president today, 44 percent approve and 51 percent disapprove. This is close to his highest job approval rating in April 2020, when 45 percent of voters approved of the job he was doing and 51 percent disapproved.

Today, voters also rated his handling of three issues:

  • On his handling of the economy, 52 percent approve and 42 percent disapprove;
  • On his handling of foreign policy, 45 percent approve and 49 percent disapprove;
  • On his handling of the response to the coronavirus, 39 percent approve and 58 percent disapprove.

THE ECONOMY & JOBS

Half of voters (50 percent) say they think Trump's policies have helped the nation's economy, 30 percent say his policies have hurt it, and 17 percent say his policies have not made a difference.

That is in line with voters' expectations in 2016 after Trump was elected. In November of 2016, 52 percent of voters said they thought Trump's policies would help the nation's economy, 31 percent said they thought his policies would hurt the economy, and 11 percent didn't think his policies would make a difference.

Looking ahead to a Biden presidency, 39 percent say they think Biden's policies will help the economy, 38 percent say his policies will hurt the economy, and 15 percent say his policies won't make a difference.

Forty-three percent of voters rate the economy as either excellent (9 percent) or good (34 percent), while 56 percent rate it as not so good (33 percent) or poor (23 percent). That is slightly improved from June 18, 2020, when 38 percent rated the economy as excellent or good and 61 percent rated it as not so good or poor.

A plurality of voters expect the nation's economy to improve in the near future, as 47 percent say they think the economy will be better in six months and 37 percent say they think it will be worse.

Asked about how difficult it would be to pay for an unexpected bill of one thousand dollars right now, 49 percent say it would be either very difficult (23 percent) or somewhat difficult (26 percent). The same amount, 49 percent, say it would be not so difficult (16 percent) or not difficult at all (33 percent).

"There is hope for an economic upswing... and for people living paycheck to paycheck, it can't come a moment too soon," added Malloy.

When it comes to job opportunities where they live, 46 percent say there are plenty of jobs available in their communities, while 42 percent say job opportunities are difficult to find in their communities.

SATISFACTION

Twenty-five percent of voters say they are either very satisfied (7 percent) or somewhat satisfied (18 percent) with the way things are going in the nation today, while 71 percent say they are either somewhat dissatisfied (25 percent) or very dissatisfied (46 percent) with the way things are going. This compares to July 2020, when 24 percent said they were either very satisfied (7 percent) or somewhat satisfied (17 percent), and 74 percent said they were either somewhat dissatisfied (18 percent) or very dissatisfied (56 percent).

978 self-identified registered voters nationwide were surveyed from December 1st - 7th with a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts gold standard surveys using random digit dialing with live interviewers calling landlines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll conducts nationwide surveys and polls in more than twenty states on national and statewide elections, as well as public policy issues.

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Poll Questions