A full third of Americans believe President Biden’s victory was the result of voter fraud, according to a Monmouth poll released Monday that underscores how false claims about the election and conspiracy theories have deeply circulated within the population.
There is no evidence that widespread fraud affected the election’s outcome, a conclusion reached by GOP officials in battleground states and courts that have rejected challenge after challenge by former President Trump’s campaign.
Yet the Monmouth survey found 32 percent of respondents believe Biden won because of fraud, compared to 65 percent of respondents who believe Biden won the election fairly.
Significantly, the percentage of those believing the conspiracy theory is largely unchanged from November, despite numerous recounts, audits and public statements by figures like then-Attorney General William Barr that there is no evidence of widespread fraud.
Even among those who believe the voter fraud conspiracy theories, close to two-thirds said that with Biden inaugurated, it is time to move on.
However, one third of this group, or about 1 in 10 American adults, vowed never to accept Biden’s legitimacy.
Claims of voter fraud fueled the violent mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 as lawmakers were certifying the Electoral College votes.
In a speech on the Senate floor minutes before lawmakers were evacuated, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), noting Biden’s more than 300 electoral votes, said it was not particularly close.
The House has impeached Trump for inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol. A trial in the Senate is set to take place starting on Feb. 8.
The Monmouth poll did find that the portion of Americans who accept that the election was conducted accurately and fairly is on the rise.
Fifty-four percent said they were “very confident” in its integrity, up 10 points from November, while those who were “not at all” confident dipped slightly from 29 percent to 25 percent in the same period.
The numbers illustrate both the challenge Biden faces in fostering national unity as well as the potential for further violence similar to that of Jan. 6.
Pollsters surveyed 809 adults from Jan. 21-24. The survey has a 3.5-point margin of error.