80 Percent Of Floridians Surveyed Worried About Election Outcome

TAMPA, FL — Researchers with the University of South Florida have released results from a statewide survey that measures attitudes and opinions regarding the 2020 presidential election and the current political climate.

Key findings include:

Floridians see 2020 as a “Very Important” election:

Almost 90 percent of Floridians surveyed say that 2020 will be “Very Important” when “compared to recent presidential elections." This sentiment is equally shared by both Republicans and Democrats.

Presidential election is a significant source of stress and worry:

Just over 80 percent agree that they are “worried about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election,” while 56 percent say that the election “is a considerable source of stress” for them. Republicans and Democrats report roughly equal levels of election-related stress.

Coronavirus and the economy top the list of important issues:

More than half of Floridians identified either “Jobs and the Economy” (28 percent) or the coronavirus pandemic (26 percent) as the most important factor in their “choice when voting for president." The only other issue identified by more than 10 percent of respondents was Health Care (16 percent). Republicans were significantly more likely to identify “Jobs and the Economy” as the most important issue (46 percent), while Democrats were more likely to say the coronavirus pandemic (35 percent).

Election expected to have significant impacts:

A plurality of respondents (45 percent) believe that their household finances will be “significantly impacted by the outcome of the presidential election," while nearly a two-thirds majority (64 percent) say the same about the coronavirus pandemic. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to believe that the outcome will affect the coronavirus pandemic, though majorities in both parties believe that it will (75 percent and 53 percent, respectively).

A large move toward absentee voting:

A plurality of respondents (43 percent) indicated that they would vote “by mail-in or absentee ballot," while one-third (34 percent) said they would vote “in person on Election Day.” (By way of comparison, according to Florida Secretary of State data, in 2016 only 28.7 percent of general election voters cast ballots by mail.) Others plan on voting “in person at an early-voting location” (23 percent). Based on the responses, Democrats are significantly more likely to vote by mail/absentee ballot and Republicans are significantly more likely to vote in person on Election Day.

Significant concerns over foreign interference:

Two-thirds of respondents indicated that they are either “Very Concerned” (27 percent) or “Somewhat Concerned” (40 percent) about the possibility of “foreign governments interfering in the 2020 presidential election."

Some small concerns over fairness:

A majority of Floridians are at least “Somewhat Confident” (49 percent) that “the 2020 election will be conducted fairly," though only 23 percent indicated that they are “Very Confident” of this, while just under a third (29 percent) were either “Not Very Confident” or “Not at All Confident."

The survey of 600 Floridians was fielded Oct. 10-17, and the results are reported with a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error +/- 4.

The complete survey results can be found here.