U.S. Elections and Voting Rules

A new PBS/NPR/Marist poll finds confidence that state and local governments will run fair and accurate elections in November 2026 has fallen to about two‑thirds — down 10 points from just before the 2024 election and the lowest level since Marist began asking in 2020 — with sharp drops among Democrats and independents while Republican confidence is essentially unchanged; Americans are also split on whether the National Guard should monitor voting. The poll shows partisan divisions over the biggest threats to elections (one‑third overall cite voter fraud — 57% of Republicans — 26% cite misleading information — about a third of independents — and 24% cite voter suppression — 41% of Democrats), and Marist’s Lee Miringoff says these fears are driven more by political messaging than by evidence, a dynamic reflected in proposals like the SAVE America Act requiring proof of citizenship to register for federal elections.