Nearly three-quarters of Americans believe that a foreign government will try to interfere with the 2020 election—73%, according to new polling from Civiqs.
Campaign Action
That includes 93% of Democrats, 70% of independents, and even a majority of Republicans at 54%. Even 59% of frequent Fox News viewers believe it. But only 11% of frequent viewers of Fox News think that the Trump administration should do more to "ensure that the 2020 elections are free of foreign interference." Those great patriotic Fox viewers believe Russia or another foreign government will meddle with the election, but they don't think the government needs to do more to prevent it. Does that mean they think Trump needs Russia's help again? Or do they just believe that Trump must be fixing it because they truly believe he's a real, functioning president?
In the real world, 53% of respondents believe the administration needs to do more to protect the next election—91% of Democrats and 49% of independents. In actual fact, the administration has taken some action, including putting an official who has expertise in election security in charge of coordinating the intelligence communities’ efforts.
That's important, as is the $380 million the Congress provided to states for election security in 2018. But that $380 million is not nearly enough to secure all the voting systems across the country that are lagging. From ancient equipment to post-election audits, most states report that they don't have the resources they need.
The Democratic House has answered that need, passing election security bills that include substantial funding for states. But Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell continues to refuse to allow that legislation to come to the Senate floor for a vote.