Poll Reveals Which Party Independents Say Is the ‘Bigger Threat to Democracy’

A new poll reveals that more Independents believe the Democratic Party is a “bigger threat” to democracy than the Republican Party.

In a new NPR/Marist poll, respondents were asked, “In general, which party do you think is the bigger threat to democracy in the United States?”

Eighty-seven percent of Democrats said the Republican Party was the bigger threat, while 88% of Republicans said the Democratic Party is.

Meanwhile, 41% of Independents said the Democratic Party is the “bigger threat,” while 37% chose the Republican Party.

Overall, respondents were essentially tied, with 42% picking Democrats and 41% choosing Republicans.

The survey comes just weeks after Senate Republicans again blocked Democrats’ legislation designed to overhaul voting and election laws, as IJR reported.

The legislation would have made election day a federal holiday, implemented same-day voter registration and automatic registration, required at least two weeks of early voting, expanded access to mail-in voting, restricted efforts to purge voter rolls, and included provisions to protect election workers.

Earlier this year, Senate Republicans blocked debate on Democrats’ “For the People Act,” as IJR reported.

The effort to implement new federal voting laws comes as Republican-controlled state legislatures have passed several laws to implement stricter requirements for voting.

As The Washington Post reports, “Across the country, 17 states have enacted laws this year that tighten the rules around casting ballots and running elections.”

“Many of the bills target mail voting and other policies that helped safeguard the franchise during the coronavirus pandemic and produce the highest turnout among American voters in more than a century. Supporters of Trump claim without evidence that unless subject to strict limits, mail ballots open the door to widespread fraud. Some of the bills also seek to curtail early voting, impose restrictions on voter registration efforts, limit the power of local officials to oversee elections,” the Post added.

President Joe Biden claimed that the “sacred right to vote is under unrelenting assault across the country” due to the wave of election laws being passed in Republican-controlled state legislatures as he warned, “Democracy — the very soul of America — is at stake.”

Meanwhile, Republicans argue the laws protect election integrity and will boost voters’ confidence in the results.