Poll: U.S. Voters Want Political System Revamped

A majority of American voters across nearly all demographics and ideologies believe their government does not work, with 58 percent of those interviewed for a New York Times/Siena College poll saying the world's oldest independent constitutional democracy requires major reforms or a complete overhaul, according to Reid J. Epstein for the New York Times.

Photo Insert: Republicans are dissatisfied because they have widespread, unfounded doubts about the legitimacy of the country's elections. For Democrats, it is the knowledge that, despite their control of the White House and Congress, Republicans, working with friends in gerrymandered state legislatures and the Supreme Court, are attaining long-sought political goals.

Republicans are dissatisfied because they have widespread, unfounded doubts about the legitimacy of the country's elections. For Democrats, it is the knowledge that, despite their control of the White House and Congress, Republicans, working with friends in gerrymandered state legislatures and the Supreme Court, are attaining long-sought political goals.

For Republicans, the distrust is a natural outgrowth of former President Donald J. Trump’s domination of the party and, to a large degree, American politics.

After seven years in which he relentlessly attacked the country’s institutions, a broad majority of Republicans share his views on the 2020 election and its aftermath: Sixty-one percent said he was the legitimate winner, and 72 percent described the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol as a protest that got out of hand.

The survey findings come as the House committee investigating the January 6 incident found more evidence this week that Trump and his aides had a hand in driving the mob to the Capitol in order to protect Trump's grasp on the executive branch.

According to 49 percent of all voters, the Capitol riot was an attempt to topple the government. Another 55% believed Trump's conduct following the 2020 election harmed American democracy. The violence, like so many other topics, was viewed by voters through the same partisan lens.

Seventy-six percent of Republican voters felt Trump was simply expressing his constitutional right to challenge his loss to Joseph R. Biden Jr. When asked if Trump committed any crimes while campaigning, 89 percent of Democrats and 49 percent of independent voters replied yes, while 80 percent of Republicans said no.

Among Democrats, 84% felt the Capitol incident was an attempt to destabilize the government, and 92% said Trump was a threat to American democracy.

Democrats' pessimism about the future originates from their party's failure to defend abortion rights, achieve comprehensive gun control legislation, and pursue other liberal causes in the face of Republican resistance. Self-described liberals were more likely than other Democrats to have lost trust in government and to say that voting made no difference.

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