A  sizable number of Democratic voters in Nevada have lost confidence in the nation and state's election system, according to a new survey from a Republican-aligned pollster shared exclusively with The Nevada Independent. 

The poll — one of the first major snapshots of the issue since the 2024 election — found that Democratic voters’ confidence in elections has dipped by nearly 30 percentage points. Sixty-two percent of Nevada Democrats surveyed in July said that they were confident that election results would be counted accurately across the country, while a September 2024 survey from the same pollster found that nearly 90 percent of Democrats had expressed a similar level of confidence in the then-upcoming 2024 elections. 

Meanwhile, Republican confidence in elections has jumped. Seventy-six percent of Nevada Republican voters surveyed this July said that votes were accurately counted nationwide during the 2024 presidential election — a dramatic uptick from September, when only about 50 percent of Republicans had confidence in the then-forthcoming results.

The survey was conducted by The Tarrance Group for the Democracy Defense Project, a  bipartisan election transparency initiative led in Nevada by former Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican, and former Nevada Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins (D-Henderson). The poll, set to be released Friday during a Latin Chamber event, surveyed 550 likely voters statewide from July 12-16 via phone and text with an oversample of 50 voters in Washoe County. It has a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.

The drooping Democratic faith in election results reflects heightened concerns from progressives about the national and state election integrity. Viral posts on Reddit and social media have claimed without direct evidence “advanced technology” was used to switch votes in Clark County from then-Vice President Kamala Harris to President Donald Trump. The claim has been refuted by state election officials.

Elected Republicans, meanwhile, have largely dropped Trump’s unsubstantiated mass voter fraud claims, with few mentioning it on the 2024 campaign trail. 

But despite dipping Democratic confidence, the poll indicated that trust in elections was consistent across party lines — 62 percent of Democrats and 76 percent of Republicans voters surveyed this month said that votes were accurately cast and counted in 2024.

Gubernatorial race

The poll also echoed another recent poll finding that the majority of Nevada voters approve of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s job performance ahead of his 2026 re-election bid. 

About 52 percent surveyed said that they “strongly approve” or “approve” of the governor, with 40 percent saying they disapprove. Only 8 percent said they were “unsure.” 

Behind local county election officials, Lombardo was listed as the most trusted official in the state when it came to elections (16 percent listed him as the most trusted). 

The poll also found that Trump’s approval rating remains low among Nevadans. 52 percent of those surveyed this July disapproved of his job performance against 47 percent who approved. Only 2 percent said they were “unsure.” 

Election integrity 

Election integrity has become an extremely partisan issue in the Nevada Legislature in recent years, since Democrats passed legislation to send all active registered voters mail ballots in 2021. Republican lawmakers, who are in the minority in both legislative chambers, have unsuccessfully sought to undo that law since.

However, a majority of those polled (70 percent) said they supported ending mass mail voting. Another 54 percent of those polled said that they supported not counting ballots received after Election Day — another proposal backed by Republicans — while 46 percent said they were opposed.  

In the wake of initial passage of a proposed constitutional amendment requiring voter ID (that will appear on the 2026 ballot for final approval), Democratic lawmakers this session passed a bill to implement voter ID and boost ballot drop box availability before Election Day, but it was vetoed by Lombardo. 

Voters, however, expressed support for those initiatives, according to the poll. Sixty-six percent of respondents said that they leaned in favor of requiring voter ID, while 82 percent said they backed standardizing ballot drop boxes rules. Only about a third were opposed to voter ID requirements. Seventeen percent said they were “unsure” or against standardizing ballot drop boxes rules. 

Another 66 percent of voters surveyed said they were in favor of open primaries that would let those who are not registered Democrats or Republicans to vote in primary elections. A Democrat-backed proposal to implement such a system was also vetoed by Lombardo this past June.  

Although confidence in election integrity was secure, trust in individual election workers was more scant. 

About 40 percent said that election workers and officials were “partisans trying to manipulate the process,” but 60 percent dubbed them as “important volunteers” with another 4 percent saying they were “unsure.”  

Democratic Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar — the state’s chief election officer — had an approval rating of 49 percent, according to the poll. Sixteen percent of respondents felt “unsure” about their stance, while 35 percent voiced disapproval.