Two-thirds of Texas voters say they are confident the upcoming U.S. presidential election will be conducted fairly and accurately, but a sizeable majority expressed concerns about fraud, accurate counting of mail ballots, voting by non-citizens and other threats to the electoral process.
Key Findings:
- Approximately three out of four Texans said the loser of the presidential race must accept the results and concede.
- Overall, more than 80% of Texas voters feel confident that state elections in their home counties will be conducted fairly.
- More than eight out of 10 voters believe biased media poses a threat to democracy.
A survey of likely Texas voters released Wednesday by the Hobby School for Public Affairs at the University of Houston explores voter concerns about threats to election security and to democracy, including the influence of money in politics, biased media coverage and attempts to overthrow the government.
Early voting in Texas began Oct. 21; Election Day is Nov. 5.
About three out of four likely voters in Texas, or 73%, said the loser of the presidential race will have a duty to accept the results and concede after all 50 states have certified the vote. That included 95% of Democrats, while slightly more than half of Republicans, or 52%, agreed.
The partisan split persists across election-related issues.
“Texas voters feel more confident that elections in Texas and in their home counties will be conducted fairly, with 85% saying they believe that about state elections and 86% saying the same about county elections, but it varies by partisan affiliation,” said Renée Cross, researcher and senior executive director of the Hobby School. “For example, 92% of Republicans have confidence in elections conducted in Texas, along with 87% of independents. Yet that level of confidence drops to 77% among Democrats.”
The split is reversed for national elections. Overall, 69% of voters are confident the U.S. election will be conducted fairly and accurately, including 95% of Democrats, 59% of independents and 45% of Republicans.
Mark P. Jones, political science fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and senior research fellow at the Hobby School, said researchers found broad agreement on some perceived threats.
“Nine out of 10 voters agree the influence of money in politics poses a threat to democracy …”
- Mark P. Jones, political science fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and senior research fellow at the Hobby School
“Nine out of 10 voters agree the influence of money in politics poses a threat to democracy, and that cut across racial, partisan and other demographic lines,” Jones said. “More than eight out of 10, or 82%, said the same about biased media coverage.”
While more than half of voters, 56%, say they are confident non-citizens won’t be allowed to vote in the presidential election, opinions differed among groups of voters — 89% of Democrats agreed, compared to 48% of independents and 26% of Republicans. Among younger voters, 79% are confident non-citizens won’t be allowed to vote; that dropped to 38% among older voters.
Among the report’s other findings:
- 57% expressed confidence votes cast by mail nationwide will be counted as voters intend. That includes 74% of Black voters, 58% of Latino voters and 55% of white voters. 69% of Democrats agreed, along with 53% of independents and 37% of Republicans.
- 43% say voter suppression is a major problem at the national level, compared to 38% who say it is a major problem in Texas and 25% who say that about local elections.
- Half of voters say fraud is a major problem in elections nationwide. That drops to 22% for Texas elections and to 21% for local elections. Republicans are far more likely to be concerned about electoral fraud, with 77% of Republicans identifying fraud as a major problem in elections nationwide, compared to 45% of independents and 23% of Democrats.
- 76% said the use of the legal system to target opponents is a threat to democracy, a view held most strongly by Republicans (90%), older voters (84%), voters with only a high school education (81%) and white voters (80%).
- 71% rank attempts to overthrow the government as a serious threat to democracy.
- 70% say gerrymandering of legislative districts is a serious threat to democracy.
- 81% support requiring Texas voters to provide an ID before casting a ballot, while 56% support online voter registration. Texas requires voter ID but does not allow online registration. 50% support allowing anyone to vote by mail for any reason. Texas restricts no-excuse mail voting to Texans 65 and older.
The full report is available on the Hobby School website. The survey was conducted between Sept. 26 and Oct. 10 in English and Spanish. The margin of error is +/-2.69%. Earlier reports in the Texas Votes series covered the 2024 statewide and Harris County elections. An upcoming report will focus on Harris County voters’ opinions about elections and democracy, and a final report will explore attitudes about electricity infrastructure and distribution.
Story by Jeannie Kever