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.
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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