Dark shadow over Trump’s America: 54% unsure if midterm elections will be free and fair | Gravitas

Facing heat over rising fuel prices, US President Donald Trump has been leaving no stone unturned in the midterm poll campaign.

He has even promised to give $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans retain power in the US House of Representatives as well as the Senate.

But a new poll has hinted at a deeper crisis, which strikes at the root of American democracy.

According to the NewsNation-Decision Desk HQ poll, which surveyed 974 voters between October 5 and 9, nearly 54% cast aspersions on whether the votes for the midterm polls will be counted fairly.

For instance, 27% of respondents expressed concern about the counting of postal ballots.

This is vital, as roughly one-third of Americans cast their ballots by mail on average.

Similarly, close to 13% of respondents each claimed that Democrats and Republicans can change the final vote count.

But will this pessimism about election integrity have an impact on voting?

While 22% affirmed that there was a need to vote to foil this impending fraud, barely 3% of respondents stated that they may not cast their vote.

However, a staggering 46% refused to answer this question, implying that nearly half the voters remain divided on this issue.

Now, concerns about the midterm elections have been growing in light of Trump accusing Democrats of seeking to cheat in elections.

Initially, Trump hinted at cancelling the polls altogether, something that the White House later brushed aside as a joke.

In February this year, Trump called for the federal government to take over election-related powers of the states, citing irregularities in votes counted in Democrat-ruled states.

According to the US Constitution, states are in charge of the supervision of voting, protection of voters, prevention of fraud and counting of votes.

The US president has also hinted at potentially not accepting the results in case cheating takes place in the polls.

Also Read: Iran war: Will Trump, Netanyahu escalate conflict ahead of crucial elections? | Race to Power

Now, Trump's own popularity is under scrutiny.

According to the opinion poll, his disapproval rating stands at 60%.

Additionally, it predicted a 76% probability of Democrats getting a majority in the 435-seat US House of Representatives.

Let's break it down further for you.

The Democratic Party is ahead of Republicans by seven percentage points in terms of voting preference. The others remain undecided.

If we look at voters who identified themselves as independents, the gap widens further.

44% of them said they would vote for Democratic candidates, as compared with 34% who said they would vote for Republicans.

Now, in terms of issues concerning the voters, the impact of the energy crisis due to the Iran war is clearly visible.

According to the poll, inflation and the state of the economy remained major points of concern.

Among undecided voters specifically, more than half hinted at reconsidering their voting choice if prices continued rising.

This is not all.

According to another opinion poll conducted by the AP-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, nearly six in 10 American adults feel that Trump is illegally profiting from his presidency.

Only about two in 10 US adults reposed faith in the US president.

With growing challenges on the war front and growing dissatisfaction among people, it is clear that Trump faces an uphill task to keep Republicans afloat in the midterms due in November this year.