Pew Research Center published a report on October 20, 2026, analyzing survey data on American voters' views of the 2026 midterm elections.

SSRS conducted the survey for Pew Research Center via online and live telephone interviewing from September 28 to October 4, 2026. The study included 5,062 U.S. adults, including 3,917 registered voters.

Eighty-eight percent of registered voters plan to vote in the November 2026 elections. Among those who plan to vote, 42% intend to cast their ballots in person at a polling place on Election Day, while 23% plan to vote in person before Election Day and another 23% plan to use an absentee or mail-in ballot.

While 39% think elections in their community will be run very well and 44% somewhat well, only 17% believe elections in the United States will be run very well, with 50% saying somewhat well. Concerns about the national process included interference, cheating or fraud cited by 19% of respondents, and Trump, the Trump administration or Republicans cited by 13%.

Thirty-one percent of registered voters are very confident that votes cast in person will be counted as intended, compared with 16% who are very confident in the counting of absentee or mail-in ballots. However, 76% of mail and absentee voters are confident votes cast this way will be counted as voters intend, whereas 47% of in-person voters hold that same confidence in mail and absentee votes.

Ninety percent of Republican voters are confident that all legally qualified voters who want to vote can do so, compared with 72% of Democratic voters. Conversely, 90% of Democratic candidate supporters are confident that if noncitizens try to vote they will be stopped, while 45% of Republican candidate supporters are confident noncitizens will be prevented from casting ballots. Sixty-five percent of all respondents say it is very important that noncitizens trying to cast ballots will be stopped.

Sixty percent of Democratic voters are confident election systems are secure from hacking and other technological threats, compared with 47% of Republican voters. Regarding intimidation at polling places, 74% of GOP voters say they are at least somewhat confident such attempts will be stopped, while 61% of Democratic voters share that confidence.

Thirty-four percent of Democratic voters plan to vote by mail or absentee ballot, including 15% who plan to return a ballot through the mail. In contrast, 17% of GOP voters plan to vote by mail or absentee ballot.

Why It Matters

According to Pew Research Center data comparing midterm election surveys, Democratic voters' confidence in the accuracy of mail-in ballot counting dropped from 85% in 2024 to 64% in 2026.

The survey achieved an 87% response rate, with 5,062 of 5,835 sampled panelists participating, as detailed in the methodology report.