Majority of Americans don’t trust Nov. vote count: Poll

A majority of American voters have doubts about the accuracy and fairness of the November 8 elections.

Overall, 35 percent of Americans say there is a great deal of voter fraud in US elections, and 39 percent believe there is only some fraud, according to a joint survey by the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Only 24 percent of respondents in the poll say there is hardly any fraud.

The survey found a great division among Republicans and Democrats on the issue.

About half of Republicans, but only about one-quarter of Democrats, say they think there is a great deal of voter fraud.

Also, 58 percent of those who have a favorable opinion of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump express the same view, while just 18 percent of those who favor his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, say the same.

On the contrast, 59 percent of those who like Clinton have quite a bit or a great deal of confidence that votes will be counted accurately, compared with just 29 percent of those who have a favorable opinion of the Republican nominee.

Some Republican voters said they are taking their cue from Trump, who has repeatedly asserted that the November vote will be fixed.

“Trump has finally said something that that I’ve been thinking for years,” said Jonathan Robinson, a Trump supporter from Columbia, Missouri. “I don’t think the votes have been counted properly for years. There’s voter fraud and attempts to game the system. I don’t trust it at all.”

At a campaign rally in Michigan on Friday, Trump said voter fraud is “a big, big problem in this country” but “nobody has the guts to talk about it.”

While raising concerns about the fairness of the election, Trump said in Monday’s first presidential debate that he would “absolutely support” Clinton if she wins.

However, in a New York Times interview, Trump appeared to be backing down from that pledge.

“We’re going to have to see. We’re going to have to see what happens. We’re going to have to see,” he was quoted as saying on Saturday.