Elections, Ukraine, Soldiers Abroad, Pence, and Santa Claus

Voting Ease: With Election 2022 finally over, we can begin to look at voters’ experience. Pew recently released new findings from its invaluable series on the vote count.

In 2022, 88% of self-identified voters said their vote was counted accurately. In 2004, the first time Pew asked the question, 92% gave that response. In addition,

93% said this year that elections in their community were run and administered very or somewhat well. In 2018, 87% gave that response. As for national elections, 71% in 2022 said they were run well, slightly down from 77% in 2018.

In the exit poll of voters, 80% were very or somewhat confident their state’s elections were fair and accurate. While the high confidence response has varied over time, polling post-mortems from this year and past years show a vast majority have few concerns about voting.

Count the damn ballots: Americans told Economist/YouGov interviewers a week after this year’s election that all ballots should be counted by Election Day (20%) or in the next day or two (22%). Sixty percent of Republicans gave this response as did 35% of Democrats. Seventeen percent of Democrats and 7% of Republicans said there should be no time requirement.

Aid to Ukraine: Faltering? A new poll from the Chicago Council suggests that still strong support may be faltering, particularly among Republicans, and media are echoing the finding. But it is an incomplete reading of opinion. In the poll, 65% still support supplying Ukraine with arms, 66% economic aid, 73% accepting refugees, and 75% sanctioning Russia. Republicans were less supportive in each case, but half or more of them supported each.

In a hypothetical question, people were asked whether they would support Ukraine “for as long as it takes (emphasis added) even if American households have to pay higher gas and food prices.” A robust 48% said yes (only a third of Republicans), while 47% chose the response that the US should “urge Ukraine to settle for peace as soon as possible” to reduce US costs. Does this suggest wavering support? Asking people about an open-ended commitments measures intensity and frequently makes headlines, but it isn’t realistic.

A Beacon Research/Shaw & Company poll for the Reagan Foundation found that 57% said the US should continue to stand with Ukraine while a third said problems at home were more urgent and that we can’t afford to spend more. Four in ten said aid was about right at its current level, 25% said we should spend more, and 24% said we should spend less.

Ipsos/Reuters has conducted regular survey on Ukraine since March. An update of their October poll next year should provide additional clarity.

US Soldiers Abroad: In a November Morning Consult/United Service Organization’s poll, 29% were very (6%) or somewhat (23%) knowledgeable about what US military service members are doing in Eastern Europe. Twenty-seven percent were not at all knowledgeable.

In the next question, when Americans were asked where most of the 20,000 US troops were deployed in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the top response was Ukraine.

Pence’s Prospects: A late November Economist/YouGov poll finds that 19% of Republicans have a very favorable and 37% a somewhat favorable opinion of former Vice President Mike Pence. Those responses for former president Donald Trump were 47% and 32%, respectively.

In the poll, 36% of Republicans said they would most prefer Trump to be the nominee in 2024, followed by 30% who said DeSantis. Eric Trump followed at 9% and Pence at 8%. Self-identified MAGA Republicans preferred Trump over DeSantis by 49% to 21%. Four percent of this group chose Pence. Non-MAGAMAGA
Republicans preferred DeSantis by 36% to 24%. In the poll, 40% identified themselves as MAGA Republicans, while 47% did not.

Tattoo Regrets? In a new Harris/Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll, 40% of those surveyed reported having one or more tattoos. Nineteen percent have had or are in the process of having one removed, and 27% are likely to do so in the future.

Santa Claus: According to a 2020 Economist/YouGov survey, half of all Americans stopped believing in Santa Claus by age 10.