Most Republican voters polled say fraud is 'prevalent' in California elections

Nicole Nixon, The Sacramento Bee on May 9, 2025

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Most California voters are confident in the state’s voting system, a new poll shows, with one large exception: Republican voters.

Nearly two-thirds of GOP voters in the state say fraud is either somewhat or very prevalent in California elections, according to the poll from UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies. Republicans are also much more supportive of election reforms proposed by President Donald Trump.

The online survey asked 6,200 registered California voters a series of election-related questions in late April. It showed 68% of voters have confidence in the overall integrity of the state’s election system, and 57% say they believe voter fraud is rare.

Just 16% of Republican voters said they are “extremely” or “very confident” in the integrity of elections run in California, compared to 58% of Democrats and 40% of voters registered as no party preference.

Regular voters, or those who frequently participate in elections, expressed more confidence in the state’s election system than those who do not vote often.

“The two parties remain polarized regarding basic questions about the democratic process in the U.S., with voters disagreeing sharply about the extent of voter fraud and about the best policies to improve the conduct of elections,” said IGS Co-Director Eric Schickler.

Trump for years claimed without evidence that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him and said on the 2024 campaign trail his political opponents “cheat like hell.” Multiple analyses have shown double voting and fraud occur at rates too small to sway national election outcomes.

Bipartisan support for voter ID

One Trump-backed election reform gets support from a majority of the state’s voters. Overall, 71% said they would support requiring people to prove U.S. citizenship in order to vote by showing a REAL ID license, passport, or other government-issued ID, including 59% of Democrats and 95% of Republicans.

Voter ID reforms have been proposed by Republicans at the state and federal level but dismissed by Democrats and elections experts as adding barriers that could reduce voter participation. Seven in ten respondents support voter ID for first-time registration and 54% would support it as a requirement to vote in every election.

Trump issued an executive order in late March to require proof of citizenship to vote and to prohibit post-Election Day ballot counting. A judge paused parts of the order from taking effect as it undergoes legal review.

The IGS survey found just 26% of California voters support ending ballot counting on Election Day, which is perhaps unsurprising for a state that overwhelmingly votes by mail.

The survey did not ask about bipartisan efforts to generally speed up California’s vote count. Secretary of State Shirley Weber told The Bee last week that faster counting could come at the expense of longer ballot-curing periods

Most California voters – 58% – also oppose giving the federal government more control over state election administration. Again, Republicans were the exception on this question: 76% of GOP voters said they would strongly or somewhat support more federal control of voting procedures.

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