Over 70% US voters say American democracy under threat, exit poll reveals

Nearly three-quarters of voters in Tuesday’s presidential election believe that American democracy is under threat, according to national exit poll data from Edison Research. The election featured a closely contested race for the presidency between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.
The data revealed that democracy and the economy were the top concerns for voters, with abortion and immigration following behind. According to the poll, 73 per cent of voters felt that democracy was at risk, while only 25 per cent believed it was secure, news agency Reuters reported.
Protecting and strengthening democracy was one of the central campaign themes for Harris in the lead-up to the election.
The poll further showed that Trump’s favourability stood at 44 per cent, slightly down from 46 per cent in the 2020 exit polls when he lost to President Joe Biden. Harris had a favourability rating of 48 per cent, compared to Biden’s 52 per cent in 2020.
On Tuesday, millions of Americans cast their votes to elect the 47th President of the United States.
During her campaign, Kamala Harris emphasised her priorities, including supporting the middle class, implementing tax cuts to benefit over 100 million Americans, ensuring affordable housing, and lifting the abortion ban to protect women’s reproductive rights.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, pledged to bolster the economy, reduce energy costs, impose higher tariffs on foreign goods–particularly imports from China–and launch an extensive deportation program to remove all undocumented immigrants from the US.