Nov. 2, 2022—More than two-thirds of Coloradans believe that elections in the state will be fair and accurate in 2022—although the numbers vary among voters from party to party, according to a new survey from the University of Colorado Boulder.
The results appear less than a week before voters head to the polls for the Nov. 8 midterms. They’re part of the latest Colorado Political Climate Survey, an annual effort to gauge how Centennial State residents are feeling about a range of topics—from the economy to abortion and several hotly-contested statewide elections.
Nationally, election integrity has been a hot-button issue in the past two years. Most voters in Colorado, however, expressed confidence that their votes will count, said Anand Sokhey, director of the American Politics Research Lab (APRL), which leads the survey.
Roughly 71% of Coloradans believe that elections in the state will be conducted “fairly and accurately,” including 92% of Democrats, 57% of Republicans and 53% of Independents. Colorado voters may have less faith in elections elsewhere in the U.S.: Just 54% overall express similar optimism for votes nationwide.
“Republicans and Independents express considerably less optimism on this point than do Democrats,” said Sokhey, associate professor in the Department of Political Science. “This suggests that the narratives that have been circulating since the 2020 election are clearly still in play this election season.”
Numerous investigations have shown that no widespread voter fraud took place during the 2020 presidential election.
In their 2022 survey, Sokhey and his colleagues worked with the company YouGov to poll more than 700 Colorado voters between Oct. 11-19.
The group’s findings point to a rare bit of good news for Democrats who have faced declining poll numbers in other key states around the country. Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, for example, could be on the path to win reelection, leading Republican Heidi Ganahl 57% to 42% in the new poll. Secretary of State Jena Griswold and U.S. Senator Michael Bennet also hold moderate leads over their Republican challengers.
“Although the Democratic party is facing strong headwinds nationally in these midterms, Democrats in statewide contests in Colorado seem to be faring well,” Sokhey said.
The state of the economy seems to be top of mind among voters from the Eastern Plains to the Front Range and Western Slope. According to the survey, only 16% of Coloradans rank economic conditions in the U.S. “excellent” or “good,” with nearly two-thirds opting for “fair” or “poor.”
But voters are more optimistic about the state of the local economy, Sokhey said. Roughly 33% of residents rank conditions in Colorado “excellent” or “good.”
Survey: Colorado voters have faith in statewide elections, concerns about the economy
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