Tag: Gretchen Helmke

One year on, Republicans still don’t consider Biden the rightful winner
In their latest survey, Rochester political scientists in the Bright Line Watch watchdog group find divisions along partisan lines have notably deepened, and voters’ confidence in next year’s midterm elections has already been affected.

Why don’t all politicians resort to antidemocratic tactics to stay in power?
A Rochester team of political scientists introduces the idea of ‘democracy by deterrence’—and shows why it might be weakening in the United States.

Republican and Democratic voters agree on one thing—the need for generous COVID-19 relief
The latest Bright Line Watch survey finds that voters support COVID-19 relief spending, but partisan divides remain over the election and impeachment.

What does it mean if most Republican voters still think Biden lost?
A new Bright Line Watch survey finds that fewer than a third of Republican voters have confidence in the national vote count.

Watchdog report: Experts see substantial danger to democratic stability around 2020 election
The latest Bright Line Watch surveys find experts concerned about multiple risks to the legitimacy of the election, while many Americans believe in the prevalence of voter fraud.

How to make sense of 2020’s unusual election season
Rochester political scientists say concerns about this year’s electoral process are challenging some fundamental ideas about the nation.

Déjà vu: What happens to America when one candidate wins the popular vote but not the Electoral College?
Political scientists explore how the November election will be viewed if there’s a split between the popular vote and the Electoral College count.

Watchdog report: US democratic indicators plummet amid racial justice protests and pandemic
Latest Bright Line Watch analysis finds erosion “across the board” on measures of democratic principles and how well the US is abiding by them.

Perception of US democracy tanks after Trump impeachment
The nonpartisan Bright Line Watch research group finds that perceptions of the health of US democracy clearly declined after the president’s impeachment.

Watching for ‘bright lines’ during the Trump presidency
In a study spanning the first 18 months of the Donald Trump presidency, the non-partisan Bright Line Watch research group found large areas of agreement as to what constitutes critical democratic principles, but little agreement over which have been violated.