Executive Summary
America has a complicated election system, particularly for choosing its President. Each state has different rules and voting systems. And because of the electoral college, those votes do not actually elect the president; instead, they elect the electors who elect the president.
Media and public attention overwhelmingly focus on which presidential candidate is winning, why, and what that result means for American politics. How the system works receives much less attention, including how results are verified and how judgments are made if results are challenged. Given the rising degree of distrust in the election system by many voters, it is critical that Americans understand how presidential elections work.
Seeking insight into how well voters understand the specifics of presidential elections, Election Reformers Network (ERN) commissioned a brief national poll in September 2024. This snap survey asked about voter knowledge of election rules, preferred media sources, political affiliation, and demographics.
High-level findings include:
The ERN survey of 1043 registered voters was conducted September 16-19, 2024 by Citizen Data. The margin of error is +/- 3%.
Media and public attention overwhelmingly focus on which presidential candidate is winning, why, and what that result means for American politics. How the system works receives much less attention, including how results are verified and how judgments are made if results are challenged. Given the rising degree of distrust in the election system by many voters, it is critical that Americans understand how presidential elections work.
Seeking insight into how well voters understand the specifics of presidential elections, Election Reformers Network (ERN) commissioned a brief national poll in September 2024. This snap survey asked about voter knowledge of election rules, preferred media sources, political affiliation, and demographics.
High-level findings include:
- Voters do not know important facts about 2024 presidential elections rules, which if understood, could reduce their concerns about elections being stolen or sabotaged.
Example: Only 36% of voters correctly answered a question on the role of state legislatures in certifying presidential election results. (State legislatures have no role.) - Voters’ know more about the roles of the media, citizens, and Congress in the election process.
Example: 89% of voters correctly answered that states and cities do not allow non-citizens to vote in federal elections. - For questions about 2024 rules and process, voter understanding is remarkably similar across respondents’ party, educational background, and preferred news sources.
Example: Respondents who use CNN as a news source scored a 66% as a group; those who use Fox News scored a 67%. - However, the survey found notable differences among voters by political affiliation and media source in terms of their understanding of the 2020 election, specifically former President Trump’s court challenges to election results.
Example: 70% of Democrats correctly answered a question about the percentage of court challenges Trump won in the aftermath of the 2020 election compared with 53% of Republicans. (Trump and supporters won one of 64 cases.)
The ERN survey of 1043 registered voters was conducted September 16-19, 2024 by Citizen Data. The margin of error is +/- 3%.
Expanded Findings
Voters do not know important facts about 2024 presidential elections rules, which if understood, could reduce their concerns about elections being stolen or sabotaged.
A presidential election in the United States is one of the most consequential events in the world. It is also among the most complicated. A wide range of entities are involved, and it can be hard for voters to understand the responsibilities and constraints on different actors. This confusion can raise doubts for voters.
One example is certification of results. In 2020, for the first time in living memory, some officials initially refused to certify results, despite being required to do so by law. These developments have made certification a topic of regular discussion in the election press and a cause of considerable concern among some voters.
Key facts about certification and observation
FACT: State legislatures have no role in the certification of presidential election results, and (barring new legislation before election day) they cannot change that fact for the 2024 general election. Certification is required by law, and courts can compel officials to certify who refuse.
FACT: Candidates have extensive protections in the ballot-counting process including the ability to assign observers to watch machine testing, election day voting, and vote tabulation.
FACT: Candidates can legally challenge election results in court by presenting evidence of error, fraud, or wrongdoing.
Learn more about election rules at ERN’s “What Voters Need to Know.”
Voters collectively earn a “failing grade” on knowledge on certification and observation
A presidential election in the United States is one of the most consequential events in the world. It is also among the most complicated. A wide range of entities are involved, and it can be hard for voters to understand the responsibilities and constraints on different actors. This confusion can raise doubts for voters.
One example is certification of results. In 2020, for the first time in living memory, some officials initially refused to certify results, despite being required to do so by law. These developments have made certification a topic of regular discussion in the election press and a cause of considerable concern among some voters.
Key facts about certification and observation
FACT: State legislatures have no role in the certification of presidential election results, and (barring new legislation before election day) they cannot change that fact for the 2024 general election. Certification is required by law, and courts can compel officials to certify who refuse.
FACT: Candidates have extensive protections in the ballot-counting process including the ability to assign observers to watch machine testing, election day voting, and vote tabulation.
FACT: Candidates can legally challenge election results in court by presenting evidence of error, fraud, or wrongdoing.
Learn more about election rules at ERN’s “What Voters Need to Know.”
Voters collectively earn a “failing grade” on knowledge on certification and observation
Facts about the way candidates and parties can observe elections and challenge results in court are important for voters to know. Even for the losing side, more voters would have trust in a process that is recognized to be participatory, transparent, and challengeable.
Voters do not know important facts about 2024 presidential elections rules, which if understood, could reduce their concerns about elections being stolen or sabotaged.
In contrast with the questions above, voters scored well on questions testing knowledge of other elements of the election process, as illustrated in Figure 2, below.
Key facts about roles
FACT: Media projections about winners and losers have no legal standing and are usually made days or weeks before the results are final.
FACT: Congress cannot overturn or reject your state’s certified presidential election results. Congress’ role is to count the electoral votes, and it only takes action in the highly unlikely event that no candidate wins a majority of electoral votes.
FACT: Non-citizens, including permanent legal residents, cannot vote in federal, state, and most local elections. Only U.S. citizens who are adults and registered to vote may cast a ballot for President, or for other federal and state offices. In rare cases, non-citizens may vote in selected local elections such as school boards.
Voters collectively earn a “B” on knowledge about roles of media, citizens, and Congress
NOTE: Allegations about noncitizen voting has received considerable media attention in this election. In that context, it is noteworthy that only 11% of voters were under the mistaken impression that some states and cities allow non-citizens to vote in presidential elections.
For these questions about rules and process, voter knowledge (or lack of knowledge) is remarkably similar across party, educational background, and preferred news sources.
Using the set of six questions illustrated in figures 1 and 2, ERN compiled aggregate scores showing how well respondents did on this “quiz” as a whole. The score for all respondents as a group was 65% correct answers, comparable to a D+ on a typical academic grading scale. Figure 3 below illustrates the vary narrow range of “grades” by category of respondents. The only noteworthy difference here is independent voters scoring a notch higher than those in major parties.
This same pattern of very similar scores across different groups appears in a comparison of respondents grouped by media source. The survey asked respondents for news sources they “use regularly for information on elections and politics.” Figure 4 illustrates what “score” voters earned on the same questions as above, broken out by their news source. Again, the level of understanding regarding this survey’s polled 2024 election rules is similar regardless of where voters get their information, with social media users scoring the worst.
Regarding the 2020 election, the survey found notable differences among voters by political affiliation, education and media source in terms of their understanding of former President Trump’s election court challenges.
The survey contained one question focused on 2020, asking voters about their knowledge of the review by courts of challenges to results. (The possibility of court challenges is a key aspect of any U.S. election.)
“Question 7: “In 2020 Donald Trump and his supporters filed 64 cases challenging the election results and/or election procedures in six swing states. What percent of these challenges do you think were decided in Trump’s favor?”
The reference source for this question was an analysis of the post-election cases written by eight prominent Republican election lawyers and retired judges, entitled, “Lost Not Stolen: The Conservative Case that Trump Lost and Biden Won the 2020 Presidential Election.” The report concludes that of the 64 cases, Trump prevailed in only one, a Pennsylvania case involving “far too few votes to overturn the results.”
Figure 5 below shows that 61% of respondents generally answered the question correctly: fewer than 5% of cases.1
1 For ease of viewing, respondents who selected “fewer than 5%” [of cases] and “none” are combined in this display given that the correct answer is that former President Trump and his allies prevailed in only one of 64 election challenges, and that one involved too few votes to affect the results.
For this survey question, unlikely the first six procedural questions discussed above, there is considerable difference in responses by educational background, political affiliation and news source. Figures 6 and 7 below illustrate those differences.
The data above show a gap in correct answers between different news sources with audiences who rely on local talk radio, Fox News, and social media the least likely to know the correct outcomes of the many lawsuits filed in 2020 by former President Trump and his supporters. Courts of law play a critical role in deciding election disputes, and in a nation living under the rule of law, there should be broad-based understanding of the final word of the courts on something as critical as a presidential election. That said, it could also be argued that the gaps between left and right groups on this question are not as large as might be expected. Concern is often expressed about competing versions of truth in our country, about completely bifurcated narratives. A 20-point spread is notable, but is not evidence of complete bifurcation.
Concluding Commentary
We release this survey in the final days before the 2024 presidential election in an atmosphere of intense political polarization and deep fears of election-driven unrest, violence, and long-term damage to our institutions. Polarization is driving some political elites to disregard norms that helped maintain stability and civility during political competition. Some voters, in turn, have grown highly concerned about whether elections are conducted fairly. These realities mean that it is more important than ever for the electorate to understand the intricacies of election rules and the procedures that ensure accurate results.
A simple corollary is the very high trust that sports fans have in the final score of sporting events, even when their team loses. As with elections, transparency and opportunities to challenge referee decisions are built into the rules of sports, helping to ensure broad trust.
It is essential that the voters of all political leanings understand the rulebook of election certification, transparency and judicial review in the 2024 election and beyond. Therefore, it is incumbent on the press and civic organizations to lean into rigorous voter education and unprecedented attention to detail – especially about the rules and laws that protect America’s democratic republic.
About ERN
Election Reformers Network (ERN) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit public policy organization founded in 2017 by election experts with extensive experience in the United States and overseas. ERN creates and advances reforms that reduce polarization and secure elections against partisan manipulation.
Method
In September 2024, ERN commissioned the national survey from the polling company Citizen Data. Citizen Data sampled N = 1,043 registered voters from September 16, 2024 - September 19, 2024 as a part of its monthly omnibus survey. The margin of error is +/- 3%. Results are weighted on party ID, age, race, gender, and education.
Method
In September 2024, ERN commissioned the national survey from the polling company Citizen Data. Citizen Data sampled N = 1,043 registered voters from September 16, 2024 - September 19, 2024 as a part of its monthly omnibus survey. The margin of error is +/- 3%. Results are weighted on party ID, age, race, gender, and education.
Appendix
Table of Figures
Share of News Sources