New Yorkers Are Scared Democracy Is Crumbling, Poll Finds

NEW YORK CITY — New Yorkers believe the future of democracy itself is on the ballot this fall, according to a new poll.

"Threats to democracy" is one of the top two issues for 34 percent of Empire State voters surveyed in a Siena College poll released Wednesday.

Only economic issues are a bigger concern ahead of November's election, with 50 percent of voters, Democrat and Republican alike, calling it their most important issue, according to the poll.

"Threats to democracy and crime are the next most important issues for voters – for Republicans, crime comes second, while democracy is second for Democrats and independents," said Steven Greenberg, a Siena College pollster.

The partisan divide in voter concerns beyond the economy isn't necessarily surprising in this bitter political climate.

The roundly debunked "Big Lie" from President Donald Trump that the 2020 election was rigged spawned a wave of uncertainty across the nation, most notably in the Jan. 6 insurrection against the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers certified Joe Biden's win.

One in three Republican candidates for statewide offices that play a role in elections supported overturning the 2020 presidential race's results, the Associated Press reported.

Within New York City, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani is among the most prominent election deniers — a stance that has cost him, among other things, his law license over his repeated falsehoods and made him a target of a Georgia probe into potential election interference. And several city dwellers have been accused of storming the U.S. Capitol, including a former NYPD officer who received the longest sentence for his role in the riot.

The Siena poll found that New York voters surveyed are overall pessimistic, 52 percent to 43 percent, about the state of democracy.

Trump, though he hails from New York City, is also deeply unpopular, according to the poll. He has a 32-63 percent favorability rating across the state, although nearly three-quarters of Republicans view him favorably, the poll found.

The poll was conducted among 655 likely New York voters, with a margin of error of + 3.9 percentage points.

Read the full poll results here.