Survey of 2020 Primary Voters Shows South Carolinians Confident in State's Elections

COLUMBIA, SC (September 10, 2020) – A survey conducted in June 2020 showed a large majority of South Carolinians who voted in the June 9 Statewide Primaries were confident in the accuracy of South Carolina's elections and were comfortable with the state's new paper-based voting system.

Voter Registration

South Carolina voters say the process of registering to vote is easy, with 65% saying it is very easy and an additional 28% saying it is somewhat easy.

Voting System

More than four in five (85%) say they are very (44%) or somewhat (41%) confident in the accuracy of South Carolina elections. This compares to roughly three in four (74%) who say they are very (35%) or somewhat (39%) confident in the accuracy of national elections.

Most voters are comfortable using South Carolina’s paper-based voting system (48% say they are very comfortable, with an additional 34% saying they are somewhat comfortable). Further, voters are confident in the accuracy of South Carolina’s paper-based voting system (38% say they very confident, with an additional 42% saying they are somewhat confident).

South Carolina voters feel voter fraud occurs less often in South Carolina elections than in national elections. When asked, 54% of respondents say they feel voter fraud occurs very often (17%) or sometimes (37%) in South Carolina elections. When it comes to national elections, 69% say they feel voter fraud occurs very often (33%) or sometimes (35%).

Polling Place Experience

In addition to positive findings relating to perceptions of South Carolina’s voting system, most primary voters reported positive experiences at their polling places.

Methodology

This report presents the findings of a quantitative, online study of registered South Carolina voters who voted in person in the June 9, 2020 Primary.

The sample is comprised of 350 state residents, with a corresponding sampling error of +/- 5.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Unless otherwise noted, findings are presented in percent.

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