Boing Boing

Americans increasingly in favor of an authoritarian crackdown, according to new poll

Ku Klux Klan at a rally in Florida in 1970. (State Library and Archives of Florida/Public Domain)

An alarming number of Americans on both sides of the political spectrum say they favor abandoning democracy in favor of authoritarianism, violence, and secession, according to a poll of 2,008 Americans conducted this summer by Project Home Fire.

When asked, "The situation in America is such that I would favor [Blue/Red] states seceding from the union to form their own separate country," 41% of Trump voters said yes and 30% of Biden voters said yes.

When asked, "Democracy is no longer a viable system, and America should explore alternative forms of government to ensure stability and progress," 31% of Trump voters said yes and 24% of Biden voters said yes.

When asked, "People who support the [Republican/Democratic] party and its ideologies have become so extreme in what they want that it is acceptable to use violence to stop them from achieving their goals," 38% of Trump voters said yes and 41% of Biden voters said yes.

When asked, "Elections should be suspended during times of crisis," 30% of Trump voters said yes and 25% of Biden voters said yes.

When asked, "I view individuals who strongly support the [Republican/Democratic] party as a threat to the American way of
life," 47% of Trump voters said yes and 52% of Biden voters said yes.

The stated mission of Project Home Fire is to "employ the tools of market research and advanced data science to enable compromise-empowering, mutual understanding to those who would leverage such knowledge to preserve, protect and expand American democracy. The Project's governing hypothesis: our democracy will be stronger the more our politics becomes about building public civility and inspiring public trust."

Exit mobile version