Strong majorities of California voters believe American democracy is under attack and support enacting a new state Voting Rights Act to prohibit discrimination and suppress efforts to restrict voting access, according to a recent poll.

Democracy Under Threat: California Voter Concerns

The survey, released Thursday by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, highlights a growing anxiety about the state of American democracy. 67% of California voters believe democracy is under attack, including 84% of Democrats, 40% of Republicans, and 64% of voters registered as ‘no party preference’ or with other political parties.

“I think that it suggests that the California voters, especially Democrats and independents, are very worried about some of what they've seen going on in Washington, both the court decisions and the Trump administration,” said Eric Schickler, the institute’s co-director. “They see it as threatening kind of core American values.”

Partisan Divide on Voting Rights

While concerns about democracy’s future are widespread, a significant partisan divide exists regarding increasing voting rights protections. Democrats and political independents overwhelmingly favor a state Voting Rights Act, while a majority of Republicans oppose it.

Specifically, 88% of Democrats support new state laws, compared to 25% of Republicans and 66% of independent voters. This division may stem from allegations of voter fraud promoted by former President Trump and his supporters, according to Schickler.

Call for a State Voting Rights Act

The poll findings come after years of claims by President Trump that the 2020 election was stolen, as well as Republican-led efforts to restrict mail-in ballots and impose stricter voter identification requirements. Trump recently signed an executive order seeking new federal controls on voting by mail, a move Democrats have vowed to challenge in court.

Matt Barreto, faculty director of the UCLA Voting Rights Project, emphasized the urgency of the situation. “Now it has come to the point where the president has tried to convince people that somehow equal voting rights is bad, because, in his words, ‘The wrong people are voting right.’”

Impact of Supreme Court Rulings

Recent rulings by the Supreme Court have also weakened federal protections under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. A pending case, Louisiana vs. Callais, could further erode these protections. Barreto stated, “I think people should be extremely nervous this court has not shown a lot of support for voting rights, and that’s the reason why California has an opportunity to pass its own state laws.”

Additional Voter Protections Supported

Beyond a state Voting Rights Act, the Berkeley poll revealed widespread support for other voter protections. These include requiring disclosure of top financial backers of ballot measures in official voter guides and expanding access to translation and interpreter assistance for communities representing at least 5% or 5,000 voters in a county.

Poll Methodology

The Berkeley IGS poll surveyed 5,109 California registered voters online in English and Spanish from March 9 to 15. The poll has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points. Funding was provided by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.