Nearly two-thirds of voters fear Tuesday's midterm results could be tampered with, with Republicans and Democrats almost equally worried, as President Trump threatens fraud claims over the Alaska Senate race, according to an
exclusive Daily Mail/Ipsos poll.
The Daily Mail/Ipsos poll surveyed 1,021 US adults, including 810 registered voters, between October 30 and November 1. The margin of error is ±3.5 points for registered voters.
Among registered voters, 63 percent are concerned the results may be tampered with in a way that affects their accuracy, the poll found.
A quarter of voters, 25 percent, said they were 'very concerned' about the election's integrity. Just 36 percent said they were not concerned.
The concern cuts across party lines: 68 percent of Democratic voters and 66 percent of Republicans say they are concerned, as are 57 percent of independents.
Twenty-nine percent of Democrats are 'very concerned,' against 24 percent of Republicans and 21 percent of independents.
Independents are the most relaxed, with 42 percent saying they are not concerned, against 33 percent of Republicans and 32 percent of Democrats. Across all registered voters, 12 percent are 'not concerned at all.'
Among registered voters, 63 percent are concerned the results of the midterm elections may be tampered with in a way that affects their accuracy, according to the latest exclusive Daily Mail/Ipsos survey
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Voters' attention is elsewhere.
Asked what matters most in deciding their vote, 45 percent named the economy and cost of living. Corruption came second at 16 percent, and democratic values and norms third at 15 percent.
Voters are also bracing for a shift in power.
Forty-eight percent expect Democrats to gain House seats, against 24 percent who expect Republicans to. In the Senate, it is 43 percent to 26 percent, though 30 percent are unsure.
Trump's scrutiny of the Alaska Senate race has intensified those fears.
The contest between incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan and former Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola is considered a toss-up that could determine control of the Senate.
A third candidate, Daniel J Sullivan Jr, a retired teacher, is also appearing on the ballot this year in Alaska. The state's Supreme Court allowed him to remain on the ballot despite legal challenges.
A late October New York Times report detailed how Peltola campaign staffers and Democratic operatives worked to recruit individuals with the same name as the incumbent senator to siphon votes from the Republican.
Campaign staffers for Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Alaska, reportedly sought to recruit candidates with the same name as Senator Dan Sullivan in an effort to siphon votes form the Republican
Trump, pictured above next to Senator Dan Sullivan, has said Democrat Mary Peltola should face punishment
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Trump has repeatedly called the gambit blatant fraud, saying at a recent rally it is 'voter fraud at the highest level' and a 'scam.'
He has demanded that Peltola be removed from the race and prosecuted along with the non-senator Sullivan.
His most far-reaching claim came when the president suggested the election may need to be 'redone' if the incumbent narrowly loses.
Given the maneuver, the attention it has garnered and the stakes at hand, one Republican election lawyer said the race is most likely out of all of the midterm contests to stir legal challenges.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in late October at Trump's order seeking to block or delay the certification of Alaska's Senate election results if the incumbent Sullivan loses and the other Sullivan's vote total could have changed the outcome.
The suit claimed the tricky naming of the candidates could undermine election integrity, but a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit on Sunday, ruling there was not a workable plan to rectify the situation without infringing ballot secrecy requirements.
The DOJ has said it will appeal the ruling.
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