Survey: Americans Want Accurate Vote Counts, Even If They Take Time
In This Resource
As Americans prepare to vote in November’s midterm elections, there’s overwhelming agreement on one thing: Getting the vote count right is more important than getting it done quickly.
In a new survey, 92% of Americans said counting votes accurately matters more than counting them quickly. And 84% said making sure every legal vote is counted is more important than having their preferred candidates win. Both findings reflect broad agreement across party lines.
Some races may be close, and Americans may not know the winners on election night. That’s normal. Election officials take the time needed to count every eligible ballot, and safeguards like audits, recounts, and certification help ensure accurate results. Election night totals are unofficial, and results can change as more ballots are counted. That’s the process working as intended, not evidence that something has gone wrong.
States United Democracy Center partnered with YouGov on a national survey of 1,528 adult Americans from Aug. 17 to 21, 2026, to better understand Americans’ views on vote counting and election results.
- Nearly all Americans (92%) say that counting votes accurately is more important than counting them quickly.
- This overwhelming preference for accuracy crosses party lines, with large majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents agreeing that accuracy matters more than speed.
- More than 8 in 10 Americans (84%) say that making sure every legal vote is counted is more important than having their preferred candidates win.
- This agreement also crosses party lines. Large majorities of Democrats (89%), Republicans (83%), and independents (64%) prioritize making sure every legal vote is counted over their preferred candidates winning.
We asked Americans whether it is more important for votes to be counted accurately or quickly. Nearly all Americans (92%) said accurate counts matter more than speed. This overwhelming agreement crosses party lines, with large majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents consistently prioritizing accuracy.
We also asked Americans which statement was closer to their views about the midterm elections: that it’s most important to make sure every legal vote is counted or that their preferred candidates win their elections.
More than 8 in 10 Americans (84%) said making sure every legal vote is counted is more important. This includes 89% of Democrats, 83% of Republicans, and 64% of independents.
Taken together, the findings show broad agreement across party lines that accurate vote counting and ensuring every legal vote is counted matter more than quickly declaring a winner or securing victory for a preferred candidate.
These data are taken from a States United survey based on 1,528 interviews conducted on the internet of U.S. adults. Participants were drawn from YouGov’s online panel and were interviewed from Aug. 17 to 21, 2026. Respondents were selected to be representative of American adults. Responses were additionally weighted to match population characteristics with respect to gender, age, race/ethnicity, education of registered voters, and U.S. Census region based on voter registration lists, the U.S. Census American Community Survey, and the U.S. Census Current Population Survey, as well as 2022 midterm turnout and 2020 and 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error for this survey is approximately ± 2.8 percentage points, though it is larger for the analysis of partisan subgroups described above. Therefore, sample estimates should differ from their expected value by less than the margin of error in 95% of all samples. This figure does not reflect non-sampling errors, including potential selection bias in panel participation or measurement error.
Following best research practices, we define “independents” as respondents with no partisan attachments and classify independent leaners as partisans.