Fewer than 50% of Americans think that the midterm elections will be free and fair.
Posted by The NPR Politics Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 92%
The NPR Politics PodcastSep 29, 2026
A UC San Diego survey of 5,016 American adults (Sept. 1–9, 2026) found 49% expect the November midterms to be free and fair, below 50%, which matches the claim as of the 2026-09-29 posting date. NPR, the Los Angeles Times and FOX 5 report the same figure, and the claim's wording is a faithful paraphrase of the passage.
The host relays this claim without endorsing it. It counts as passed on, not against the post.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… There was a recent survey from UC San Diego that asked about a bunch of different aspects of election confidence, and the key finding was that fewer than 50% of Americans think that the midterm elections will be free and fair elections. And so that's initially, like, a top line, kind of a shocking number when you think about it. The majority of people are really concerned that these will be fair elections. …
The NPR Politics Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The UC San Diego survey, published 2026-09-15, reports that just 49% of voters said they expect the November 2026 elections to be free and fair, with 23% saying no and 28% unsure.[1]
Supports. NPR's 2026-09-25 report states that fewer than 50% of voters expect the midterms to be 'free and fair elections,' citing the UC San Diego polling from that month.[2]
Supports. The Los Angeles Times, as republished by the Spokesman, reports the same 49% figure from the UC San Diego Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections poll.[3]
Supports. FOX 5 San Diego reports that only 49% of participants believe the upcoming November elections will be fair and free, with the same 23% no and 28% unsure split.[4]
Context. Other polls cited in the sources show a majority of voters trust their own state and local election officials to run a fair election, so the finding concerns national confidence rather than local trust.[2][5]
Sources
5 sources: 1 primary, 1 tier 2, 3 not rated
- 1Fewer Than Half of Americans Expect Free and Fair Midtermstoday.ucsd.edu · primary source · cited for: supports
- 2Americans are worried about elections. Will it affect turnout ...npr.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
- 3Fewer than half of Americans expect midterm elections to be ‘free and fair,' poll findsspokesman.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Survey: Fewer than half of Americans believe there will be a fair midterm electionfox5sandiego.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Americans are confused and worried about elections. Will that impact turnout?kosu.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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