Most in new poll say they will accept election results, no matter who wins

Most respondents in a survey released Sunday said they will accept the results of November’s election, no matter who wins.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 79 percent of all respondents, including 59 percent of those who back President Trump’s reelection, would accept a win by Democratic nominee Joe Biden. 

Similarly, 73 percent of all respondents, including 57 percent who back Biden, said they would accept a Trump win.

Among the Trump supporters who would not accept a Biden victory, 16 percent said they would do something to challenge the win, including protesting or resorting to violence. 

Twenty-two percent of Biden supporters who would not accept a Trump win said they would challenge the results.

The new Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted between Oct. 13 and 20 and surveyed 2,649 Americans, including 1,039 who support Trump and 1,153 who support Biden. The margin of error amounted to 4 percentage points. 

The poll comes as several developments have led some Americans to question the integrity of the 2020 election, prompting many to worry about potential violence following Election Day. 

National security officials last week cautioned that Russia and Iran have been hacking into voting systems in an effort to undermine the election. 

Trump has also spread unfounded claims that mail-in voting opens up the election to fraud, as record numbers are mailing in their ballot amid the coronavirus pandemic. The president also has indicated the election could be “rigged” against him if Biden won.

And political scientists have warned that a close election could result in accusations of fraud.

The last national Reuters/Ipsos poll determined Biden is ahead of Trump by 8 percentage points, with 51 percent backing the former vice president and 43 percent supporting the president.

The race is likely to come down to a series of battleground states. Reuters surveys have shown Biden leading Trump in Wisconsin and Michigan but facing a closer election in Pennsylvania, Florida, Arizona and North Carolina.