Grinnell College Poll: Americans More Confident in Voting, Pessimistic on Democracy, Economy

The most recent Grinnell College Poll finds high levels of confidence that votes will be counted as voters intended but concerns about the state of American democracy and the economy. The poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted by YouGov October 15-20, 2026, found that 64% of Americans are confident that votes in the upcoming midterm elections will be counted as voters intended.   

The poll found 74% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning respondents are very or somewhat confident votes will be counted as intended compared to 66% of Republican and Republican-leaning respondents.   

“It is noteworthy that confidence in the vote has improved since the last time the Grinnell poll was in the field in March of 2024,” said Peter Hanson, Director of the Grinnell College poll and Professor of Political Science at Grinnell College. “Then, we found that 58% of Americans were confident votes would be counted as intended. The improvement is driven by Republicans, whose confidence in the vote increased from 41% in March of 2024 to 66% today.” 

Since 2018, the Grinnell College Poll has investigated the health of American democracy by studying public attitudes about liberty, equality, and the institutions of liberal democracy.  

The poll revealed signs of discontent among Americans as the 2026 midterm elections approach.  

Overall, 70% of Americans agree with the statement that American democracy is in crisis, including majorities of both political parties. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning respondents, 84% agree that democracy is in crisis, compared to 60% of Republicans and Republican-leaning respondents, and 66% of independents.  

“We find broad support for democracy and core democratic values among Americans, but deep concern about the health of our democracy,” Hanson said. “The unfortunate idea that unites Americans is the fear that American democracy is in crisis.” 

Americans’ sentiment about the economy was mixed, with a plurality of 39% of respondents saying that they think the economy will be worse in a year. A majority of Democrats and Democratic-leaning respondents, along with a majority of independents, say that the economy will be worse in a year. By contrast, a plurality of 43% of Republicans and Republican-leaning respondents say the economy will be better in a year.   

“Partisanship seems to be shaping how people view the economy, which reflects a trend we’ve seen over the last few decades where people believe the economy is going to do better when their preferred party is in power,” said Courtney Nava, assistant professor of Political Science. “Independents seem to be behaving more like Democrats, believing the economy is going to get worse, which has helped create an environment that is very favorable to Democrats in the midterms.”  

The poll found bipartisan opposition to the construction of data centers to support artificial intelligence systems. Overall, 57% of respondents indicate that they would not support building a data center in their community, including 73% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning respondents, a plurality of 45% of Republicans and Republican-leaning respondents, and 54% of independents. 

Americans continue to be starkly divided on immigration policy.  Among Republicans and Republican-leaning respondents, 73% agree with the statement, “All illegal immigrants should be removed from the United States even if they are living here peacefully.” Just 12% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning respondents and 30% of independents say the statement reflects their beliefs. 

The Grinnell Poll is fielded every two years featuring questions co-authored by Grinnell College students and faculty. Students collaborate with faculty members to learn practical skills in survey research, data analysis, and writing, while better understanding the challenges facing American democracy during an age of global populism.  

The 2026 poll was conducted with YouGov via a web survey and includes responses from 1,500 U.S. respondents over the age of 18.  The respondents were matched to a sampling frame to be representative of the U.S. population on gender, age, race, and education. Members of YouGov’s panel were invited to participate in the survey.  YouGov’s recruitment process is open to all. Panelists eligible for participation have been members of the YouGov panel for at least 30 days and have passed a series of quality checks. The margin of error is +/- 3.15%. 

Note to Media: Graphs, crosstabs, and the methodology document related to the Grinnell National Poll are available upon request.  To obtain these materials, please contact: 

Ellen de Graffenreid 
Vice President for Communications and Marketing 
Grinnell College 
graffeel@grinnell.edu