A majority of voters nationally are not satisfied with how democracy is working in the U.S. but are open to a dictator who reflects their views, according to a new survey by the Center for a Sustainable Democracy at the University of South Florida.
The survey, conducted in partnership with YouGov, a global research firm, found that 55.4 percent of voters are unsatisfied with the state of democracy. Only 35 percent of Democrats, Republicans and Independents generally favor replacing democracy with a dictator.
But support for a strong leader without checks from Congress or courts rises to 58 percent among Republicans if that leader is Republican and 58 percent for Democrats for if that leader is a Democratic. Independents oppose any unchecked strong leaders.
Joshua Scacco, an associate professor of communication and director of the Center for Sustainable Democracy, shared the findings exclusively Tuesday on WMNF WaveMakers with Janet & Tom. The survey was conducted initially in September with 1,450 voters. A follow-up survey was just completed with the same voters to discern how the presidential campaign has affected their views on democracy.
“Political polarization is important to understanding the state of democracy,” Scacco said.
Republicans and Independents are less satisfied with the state of democracy than Democrats, the survey found.
“Democrats are the only group that has majority satisfaction with democracy,” Scacco said.
Myriad forces behind the negative feelings about democracy, Scacco said. Trump and others political leaders have spent eight years sowing mistrust in elections, he said. The Jan. 6 insurrection fueled further mistrust. Meanwhile, Scacco said, “there’s a large segment of the population that believes government isn’t working for them.” Some are concerned about the courts “going after long-standing rights,” Scacco said, and about prominent people getting away with crimes. “Democracy,” Scacco said, “is not just about Election Day. It’s about the other 364 days of the year. It’s about the rule of law. You see people struggling with this notion of democracy.”
Hear the entire conversation by clicking the link below, going to the WaveMakers archives or by searching for WMNF WaveMakers wherever you listen to podcasts.
