Californians are more concerned about the Trump administration interfering in the state\u2019s midterm elections than they are about voter fraud, noncitizens voting illegally or foreign interference, according to a new poll.<\/p>\n
A majority of voters \u2014 61% \u2014 identified potential federal interference as a \u201cmajor concern\u201d heading into November, slightly more than the 59% who cited possible foreign interference as such, according to the poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times.<\/p>\n
By comparison, 41% of California voters identified voter fraud and 37% identified noncitizens voting as major concerns, the poll found.<\/p>\n
The polling reflects the liberal leanings of the state, where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, as well as the nation\u2019s hyperpartisan divide on voting issues and vulnerabilities. <\/p>\n
That divide has been driven for years by President Trump\u2019s relentless criticism of U.S. elections<\/a>, particularly in large blue states such as California, and recently by his administration\u2019s attempts to wrest control over voting processes<\/a> from the states based on unverified claims of widespread fraud and the fierce pushback against those claims<\/a> from California Democrats and other liberal leaders around the country.<\/p>\n The White House has dismissed concerns about interference and accused Democrats of obstructing its efforts to protect American elections from fraud, including through the proposed SAVE America Act \u2014 which would enforce<\/a> strict new ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements for voters nationwide.<\/p>\n While 80% of Democratic respondents to the poll said potential federal interference in the state\u2019s elections was a major concern, just 28% of Republican respondents identified it as such. <\/p>\n Voter fraud was identified as a major concern by 84% of Republican voters but just 21% of Democratic voters, the poll found. Noncitizens voting illegally also was identified as a major concern by 85% of Republicans but just 12% of Democrats.<\/p>\n Republicans also have substantial concerns about the security of mail ballots and how slowly California counts its vote<\/a>, while Democrats were far less concerned about those issues, the poll found.<\/p>\n Mark DiCamillo, the poll\u2019s director, said it clearly reflects the partisan divide around election issues and \u201cshows that in this state, federal interference is a big deal \u2014 more so than in other places around the country.\u201d<\/p>\n He called that a \u201cbig finding\u201d in line with previous polls that found \u201cCalifornians are very concerned about prioritizing efforts to defend democracy and to protect election systems,\u201d including in the face of threats from Trump \u2014 who routinely has focused on the state in his regular attacks on election integrity<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFor 61% of Californians to say that\u2019s a major concern to them in terms of the threats to the election system, I think that\u2019s very newsworthy,\u201d DiCamillo said. <\/p>\n He also noted the particularly stark difference between state Democrats and Republicans on the issue of noncitizens voting.<\/p>\n \u201cNearly 90% of Democrats say that\u2019s not a concern, whereas 85% of Republicans feel it is,\u201d he said. \u201cCalifornians have a lot of noncitizens in the state, but Democrats don\u2019t think they\u2019re infecting the voter rolls, so they\u2019re not concerned about it.\u201d <\/p>\n That was striking, DiCamillo said, given how much Trump has pointed to California to claim that noncitizens are voting.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, the Democrats are very strongly opposed to the president, what he\u2019s trying to do, and the Republicans are supportive,\u201d DiCamillo said.<\/p>\n Other findings in the poll also support that conclusion. <\/p>\n