New poll shows democracy and elections in doubt in South Dakota

A new statewide poll has exposed deep concerns among South Dakota voters that the U.S. democratic system of government is at risk and also revealed that almost half of voters agree that violence is an acceptable method of protecting the democracy.

Political science professor Shane Nordyke of the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D., is not surprised, although she is somewhat dismayed, by the new statewide poll results generally showing that many South Dakota voters question the integrity of elections and that a vast majority believe that American democracy is currently under threat.

As the director of the Chiesman Center for Democracy at USD, Nordyke has seen consistent polling in recent years showing that South Dakota voters are concerned about the security of elections, have doubts about the stability of democracy and are worried that civility in the country is on the wane.

The poll, commissioned jointly by South Dakota News Watch and the Chiesman center, generally shows a continuation of those trends.

"This seems to be the one universal thing that we all agree upon, that these democratic norms we’ve been accustomed to are being eroded and it seems like the system hasn’t worked appropriately," Nordyke said.

The poll of random registered voters showed that 68.2% of respondents saying American democracy is "under attack" and 25.8% saying it is "being tested."

The results showed the concerns were shared at fairly consistent levels among all political parties.

Furthermore, 39% of respondents overall said it is acceptable to engage in violence to protect American democracy, while 56% said it is unacceptable.

Republicans led the way in finding violence acceptable, with 16.5% in strong agreement and 30.6% somewhat agreeing that violence is acceptable to protect democracy.

Jon Schaff, a political science professor at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., said it is clear that most South Dakotans are worried about the strength of our democracy, though for very different reasons depending on political party affiliation.

Republicans, for example, may agree that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump and that the electoral system is corrupt. Democrats, meanwhile, may believe that Trump himself is the real threat to democracy as he continually questions or attacks democratic norms, processes and long-held faith in institutions.

Part of the concerns over the stability of democracy are voter suspicions about the integrity of elections, including the 2020 presidential election in which President Joe Biden defeated Trump.

"When you have even a significant minority that doesn’t really trust the electoral system and isn’t confident that our elections are competently run in a manner that suggests integrity or legitimacy, you’ve probably got a real problem," said Schaff.

The late November poll found that while 67% of overall respondents accept that Biden defeated Trump, 32% do not accept that outcome despite a lack of clear evidence of fraud.

Among Republicans, about half accept the 2020 results (49.6%) but nearly the same number do not accept the results (49.2%). Meanwhile, 94.3% of Democrats said they accept the 2020 outcome, and 74.6% of Independents/NPA voters also accept that Biden won.

Nordyke said concerns about election integrity and strength of democracy pre-date the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. But she added that Trump's consistent claims that the election was stolen have intensified concerns among some voters that the system cannot be trusted.

Nordyke speculated that the highly divisive politics common in American government today are causing a cycle in which people are less and less inclined to talk about problems or work together to find common ground and possibly solutions.

“The opposing party, whomever that is, has almost become a caricature in our minds. We’re not thinking that these are our neighbors in that other party,” she said.

Just as Trump continues to question election results and decry the integrity of the system, Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson recently questioned the accuracy of voting systems used by county voters.

USD political science professor emeritus Michael Card said constant questioning of the 2020 presidential election results, and doubts expressed by election officials such as Anderson, have further fueled that distrust and angst and could ultimately lead to greater lawlessness, he said.

Card also raised concerns about an increase in what political scientists describe as "confirmation bias" in which people tend to listen only to people or leaders who agree with beliefs they already hold. That phenomenon can increase divisiveness both in politics and in daily life in a society, he said.

Increased divisiveness can exacerbate incivility as people become less inclined to share new or contradictory ideas with one another, which can cause greater isolation and divisiveness among factions of society, he said.

"If we’re subject to this confirmation bias, we are subject to being manipulated in a certain direction," Card said.

And yet, Nordyke said there are some positive messages within the new News Watch/Chiesman poll results, including the fact that so many South Dakota voters are concerned about the fragility of our democracy, which might cause people to hold themselves and elected officials accountable for what they say.

Schaff said that in the current political environment there is unlikely to be a single or simple solution to this problem.

He suggested people could spend less time on their phones and more time reading a book or talking directly with others. They can stop watching partisan news and not fall victim to leaders and media members who try to manipulate their passions by stirring up anger and resentment toward those who disagree. And he said voters can make better choices on Election Day to support candidates who are more “statesmanlike.”

“There’s no quick solution to these problems,” he said. “Because that’s sort of how you lose a civil culture, gradually and then all at once, and maybe we’re seeing the ‘all at once’ happening right before our eyes.”

— This article was produced by South Dakota News Watch, a non-profit journalism organization located online at sdnewswatch.org.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: New poll shows democracy and elections in doubt in South Dakota