A majority of Americans are extremely concerned about but not resigned to the decline of democracy
Our latest report presents findings on democratic resignation–the idea that American democracy is deteriorating and very little can be done to stop it. We conducted two large surveys. The first in September 2022 (N=3516), a few months before the 2022 midterm elections, and the second (N=2000) in August 2024, a few months before the 2024 presidential election.
Large shares of Americans, in both 2022 and 2024, agreed with the statement that America is heading toward the end of democracy. However, the percentage of Americans who agreed with the statement substantially dropped between 2022 and 2024. When we first asked this question, 58 percent of Americans agreed with the statement, but by 2024, only 44 percent agreed.
While Americans are clearly worried, a majority disagree with the statement that “very little can be done to stop American democracy from ending in the next decade.” In 2022, 57 percent of Americans disagreed with the statement, and by 2024, 55 percent disagreed.
Partisan differences
In both 2022 and 2024, Republicans were substantially more concerned about the future of democracy than Democrats or Independents. In 2024, the gap between Democrats and Republicans substantially increased, with 55 percent of Republicans agreeing with the statement, while only 36 percent of Democrats. Democrats are increasingly optimistic. Feelings of resignation were not as polarized, although the gap grew in 2024.
Voting and resignation to democratic backsliding
When we look at the relationship between the importance of voting and the belief that America is heading toward the end of democracy, we see that the two are not necessarily related. In 2022, 60 percent of Americans who said voting was important also agreed that America was heading toward the end of democracy, while 56 percent of Americans who said voting was not important agreed with the statement.
In 2024, however, far fewer people who said voting was important agreed with the statement (45 percent), while the percentage of people who said voting was not important and agreed with the statement dropped only slightly (51 percent). It is the case that people who are resigned to the end of democracy are less likely to believe that voting is important.
About the Path to 2024 Report Series
PRL’s Path to 2024 report series is a new monthly chronicle covering partisan attitudes of Americans in the lead-up to the November 2024 presidential election. Each month, we focus on a different salient issue affecting voters and analyze public attitudes from our weekly public opinion poll. We will take on topics ranging from attitudes toward policy issues, such as immigration, to the health of our democracy. Backed by hard data, we hope to inform and dispel myths about what everyday Americans really believe. The reports are produced and written in clear language by PRL political scientists.