Politico reports: The American electorate has turned deeply skeptical about the integrity of the nation’s election apparatus, with 41 percent of voters saying November’s election could be “stolen” from Donald Trump due to widespread voter fraud.
The new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll — conducted among 1,999 registered voters Oct. 13 through Oct. 15 — shows that Trump’s repeated warnings about a “rigged” election are having effect: 73 percent of Republicans think the election could be swiped from him. Just 17 percent of Democrats agree with the prospect of massive fraud at the ballot box.
The public sentiment is beginning to reflect Trump’s campaign message. Over the last week, the GOP nominee has intensified his criticism of the U.S. electoral system, much to the chagrin of elected Republicans, who think it threatens the peaceful transfer of power. Trump calls the process rigged, and has said the media is colluding with Hillary Clinton to throw the presidential race in her favor.
Trump’s comments casting doubt upon the process have drawn a gentle rebuke from House Speaker Paul Ryan, whose spokesperson put out what would ordinarily be an unremarkable statement on Saturday: “Our democracy relies on confidence in election results, and the speaker is fully confident the states will carry out this election with integrity.” [Continue reading…]
Note the connection with the major finding of Achen & Bartels in their recent book Democracy for Realists: there’s a strong tendency for voters to move toward the positions of candidates they like (on prior intuitive grounds), rather than liking candidates because they hold positions the voters already hold. That’s how Trump is able to wreak havoc with the system, re-shaping his supporters’ belief systems.
The big Rs have profited by mild versions of Trump’s fictions for so long that I wonder if they can get it together to denounce him unequivocally before they’re swept away. Or maybe there’s nothing they could say at this point that would make an impression.