Examining false beliefs about voter fraud in the wake of the 2020 Presidential Election

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Pennycook ◽  
David Gertler Rand
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
False Beliefs ◽  
Wide Spread ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Legal Challenges ◽  
Election Fraud ◽  
Voter Fraud ◽  
Election News

The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election saw an unprecedented number of false claims alleging election fraud and arguing that Donald Trump was the actual winner of the election. Here we report a survey exploring belief in these false claims that was conducted three days after Biden was declared the winner. We find that a majority of Trump voters in our sample – particularly those who were more politically knowl-edgeable and more closely following election news – falsely believed that election fraud was wide-spread and that Trump won the election. Thus, false beliefs about the election are not merely a fringe phenomenon. We also find that Trump conceding or losing his legal challenges would likely lead a ma-jority of Trump voters to accept Biden’s victory as legitimate, although 40% said they would continue to view Biden as illegitimate regardless. Finally, we found that levels of partisan spite and endorsement of violence were equivalent between Trump and Biden voters.

scholarly journals Research note: Examining false beliefs about voter fraud in the wake of the 2020 Presidential Election

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Pennycook ◽  
David G. Rand
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Research Note ◽  
False Beliefs ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Legal Challenges ◽  
Election Fraud ◽  
Voter Fraud ◽  
Election News

The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election saw an unprecedented number of false claims alleging election fraud and arguing that Donald Trump was the actual winner of the election. Here we report a sur-vey exploring belief in these false claims that was conducted three days after Biden was declared the winner. We find that a majority of Trump voters in our sample – particularly those who were more politically knowledgeable and more closely following election news – falsely believed that election fraud was widespread and that Trump won the election. Thus, false beliefs about the elec-tion are not merely a fringe phenomenon. We also find that Trump conceding or losing his legal challenges would likely lead a majority of Trump voters to accept Biden’s victory as legitimate, alt-hough 40% said they would continue to view Biden as illegitimate regardless. Finally, we found that levels of partisan spite and endorsement of violence were equivalent between Trump and Biden voters.

Rigged-Election Rhetoric: Coverage and Consequences

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirby Goidel ◽  
Keith Gaddie ◽  
Spencer Goidel
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Media Bias ◽  
Previous Literature ◽  
Hillary Clinton ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
Voter Fraud

ABSTRACTUsing content analysis and original survey data, we investigated the news coverage and consequences of Donald Trump’s “rigged-election” claims during the 2016 presidential election. We added to previous literature by showing that the effects of such claims were highly contingent on individual partisan affiliation. Republicans and Independents who believed that the elections were rigged via voter fraud or media bias were more likely to report that they intended to vote or had already voted. Democrats and Independents who believed that Hillary Clinton would benefit from voter fraud or media bias were more likely to vote for Donald Trump.

scholarly journals Was there any widespread fraud in 2020 presidential election? What does Benford's Law say?

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deeya Datta ◽  
David Banks
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Forensic Analysis ◽  
Benford’S Law ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Comprehensive Investigation ◽  
Electoral Fraud ◽  
Benford's Law ◽  
Election Fraud ◽  
Basic Statistical Analysis

Fair elections free of any interference are integral tenets of any functioning democracy, and widespread election fraud is undoubtedly a serious threat to a free republic. While instances of electoral fraud are much more prevalent in countries with illiberal democracies, the U.S has recently faced such an accusation. Although he was unable to provide any concrete evidence, the former U.S. President Donald Trump accused his opponent, Joe Biden, now president, of electoral fraud after the presidential election. Fortunately, election forensics are often successful in investigating the validity of such fraud allegations. In this paper, I applied Benford’s law, a rule that should stand up to any large set of natural numbers, such as un-tampered electoral data. Using this law and basic statistical analysis of votes of U.S. counties for candidates of the two major parties, I completed a forensic analysis to investigate Mr. Trump’s allegation. My comprehensive investigation does not find any evidence supporting his allegation.

scholarly journals Individual Differences in Belief in Fake News about Election Fraud after the 2020 U.S. Election

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
Dustin P. Calvillo ◽  
Abraham M. Rutchick ◽  
Ryan J. B. Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Presidential Approval ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
Election Fraud ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Election News ◽  
The U.S

Fake news is a serious problem because it misinforms people about important issues. The present study examined belief in false headlines about election fraud after the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Belief in election fraud had dangerous consequences, including the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021. In the present study, participants rated the truthfulness of true and false headlines about the election, and then completed individual difference measures eight days after the election. Participants with more conservative ideology, greater presidential approval of the outgoing president, greater endorsement of general conspiracy narratives and poorer cognitive reflection demonstrated greater belief in false headlines about election fraud. Additionally, consuming more politically conservative election news was associated with greater belief in false headlines. Identifying the factors related to susceptibility to false claims of election fraud offers a path toward countering the influence of these claims by tailoring interventions aimed at decreasing belief in misinformation and decreasing conspiracy beliefs to those most susceptible.

scholarly journals No evidence for systematic voter fraud: A guide to statistical claims about the 2020 election

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (45) ◽  
pp. e2103619118
Author(s):  
Andrew C. Eggers ◽  
Haritz Garro ◽  
Justin Grimmer
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Election Result ◽  
Cast Doubt ◽  
Us Presidential Election ◽  
The Common ◽  
Voter Fraud ◽  
Common Logic

After the 2020 US presidential election Donald Trump refused to concede, alleging widespread and unparalleled voter fraud. Trump’s supporters deployed several statistical arguments in an attempt to cast doubt on the result. Reviewing the most prominent of these statistical claims, we conclude that none of them is even remotely convincing. The common logic behind these claims is that, if the election were fairly conducted, some feature of the observed 2020 election result would be unlikely or impossible. In each case, we find that the purportedly anomalous fact is either not a fact or not anomalous.

Masks and Emasculation: Populist Crisis Rhetoric and the 2020 Presidential Election

2021 ◽  
pp. 000276422110112
Author(s):  
Meredith Neville-Shepard
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Rhetorical Analysis ◽  
Presidential Campaign ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Preventative Measure ◽  
Litmus Test

This essay illustrates how Donald Trump engaged in what I call “populist crisis rhetoric” throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and coinciding 2020 U.S. presidential campaign cycle. By performing a critical rhetorical analysis of textual fragments surrounding how Trump addressed the preventative measure of mask-wearing, I show how he rejected the role of comforter-in-chief and instead opted for the role of victim-in-chief. Specifically, turning the bare face into a litmus test of Trump loyalism, his rhetoric suggested that masks threatened masculinity and functioned as a form of anti-choice bodily oppression.

You’re Fired! Donald Trump and the 2020 Congressional Elections

The Forum ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 627-650
Author(s):  
Jamie L. Carson ◽  
Spencer Hardin ◽  
Aaron A. Hitefield
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Vice President ◽  
The United States ◽  
Congressional Elections ◽  
General Election ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Modern Era

Abstract The 2020 elections brought to an end one of the most divisive and historic campaigns in the modern era. Former Vice President Joe Biden was elected the 46th President of the United States with the largest number of votes ever cast in a presidential election, defeating incumbent President Donald Trump in the process. The record turnout was especially remarkable in light of the ongoing pandemic surrounding COVID-19 and the roughly 236,000 Americans who had died of the virus prior to the election. This article examines the electoral context of the 2020 elections focusing on elections in both the House and Senate. More specifically, this article examines the candidates, electoral conditions, trends, and outcomes in the primaries as well as the general election. In doing so, we provide a comprehensive descriptive analysis of the climate and outcome of the 2020 congressional elections. Finally, the article closes with a discussion of the broader implications of the election outcomes on both the incoming 117th Congress as well as the upcoming 2022 midterm election.

A King Cyrus President

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 502-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Barrett-Fox
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The United States ◽  
Religious Right ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Moral Majority ◽  
Open Coding

Religious right leaders and voters in the United States supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election for the same reason that all blocs vote as they do: They believed that the candidate offered them the best opportunity to protect and extend their power and create their preferred government. The puzzle of their support, then, is less why they chose Trump and more how they navigated the process of inserting Trump into their story of themselves as a “moral” majority. This self-understanding promotes and exploits feelings of entitlement, fear, resentment, and the desire to dominate to encourage political action. Because Trump’s speeches affirm these feelings, religious right voters were open to writing a plot twist in their story, casting Trump as a King Cyrus figure, as their champion if not a coreligionist. This article analyzes appeals to and expressions of entitlement, fear, resentment, and the desire to dominate from more than 60 sermons, speeches, and books by religious right authors, Donald Trump, and Trump surrogates. Using open coding, it identifies themes in how these emotions are recognized, affirmed, and invoked by speakers, focusing on Trump’s Cyrus effect.

scholarly journals Presidential campaign of Volodimir Zelensky: Usage of Donald Trump’s experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 698-713
Author(s):  
Vladimir E. Kosyakov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Political Leader ◽  
Common Elements ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Counter Culture ◽  
Image Building ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The One ◽  
Presidential Election Campaign

Introduction: the article contains the analysis of the unique features of Volodimir Zelensky’s presidential election campaign, the success of which is based on the image of a political leader deliberately built as totally different from the one traditional for the Ukraine’s political elite. Objectives: studying the main political trends in presidential campaigns of Volodimir Zelensky and Donald Trump, to identify common elements of their image-building strategies. Methods: comparative analysis. Results: the study verifies the effectiveness of building the counter-culture image of a political leader in the conditions of high levels of political cynicism and citizens’ distrust to their government. Conclusions: the tactics used by Donald Trump and Volodimir Zelensky during the 2016 US elections and 2019 Ukrainian elections respectively are similar at their core. The difference manifests itself in the types of political images used, as formed with respect to the candidates’ previous careers.

Explaining Trump’s Support: What We Saw and Heard At His Campaign Rallies

The Forum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Dickinson
Keyword(s):  
Economic System ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Hard Work ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Racial Resentment ◽  
Economic Anxiety

Abstract More than a year after his surprise victory, scholars continue to debate why Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election. Two explanations – economic anxiety and racial resentment – are commonly cited. Drawing on open-ended interviews with Trump supporters and observations at multiple Trump campaign rallies, we find that both explanations, as commonly presented, do not fully capture the dynamics underlying Trump’s support. Rather than racial animosity or concern over their personal economic status, we believe that Trump’s supporters were primarily focused on what they saw as an increasingly biased political and economic system that no longer rewarded hard work and playing by the rules.

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