By Peter Schurmann

Eighty nine percent of California voters believe American democracy is under strain. Overwhelming majorities, including significant numbers of Republicans, also support state action to protect democracy and expand voter access.

Those are among the findings from a new multilingual poll of nearly 6000 voters released by the University of California Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS).

“That’s a pretty stunning number,” said IGS Co-Director Eric Schickler. He presented the findings during an April 27 event in Sacramento alongside Matt Barreto with UCLA’s Voting Rights Project.

Schickler stressed that concerns about threats to democracy among voters in the Golden State cut across partisan lines. “It’s striking that 46% of Republicans say American democracy is under attack. Another 33% that it is being tested,” noted Schickler. “This is a widespread concern.”

Similar views across partisan, racial lines

The non-partisan survey polled 5,962 registered voters in five languages — English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean. Questions were sent via email and text message from April 9-18. The poll was conducted on behalf of the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.

The periodic survey provides a barometer of California voters’ views on matters of politics and public policy. Schickler said the breadth of languages and the size of the sample pool allows researchers to dig more deeply into diverse subgroups across the state.

This year’s poll also led with a question that, according to Schickler, “nobody would have thought to ask 10 years ago.”

Sixty eight percent of respondents agreed American democracy is under attack, while 21% said our democracy is being tested. Those findings cut across both partisan and racial lines; including 74% of white voters, 63% of Latinos, 64% of API voters and 70% of Black voters.

“It is striking in California that you see across racial groups very similar views on these questions,” said Schickler.

Voter fraud not a major concern

Respondents pointed to money in politics, the Supreme Court and big tech as major threats to democracy. Seventy eight percent — including 10% of Republicans — also blamed President Trump for the erosion of democratic norms.

Only about 20% cited voter fraud as a concern despite it being a major issue for the president and his supporters.

Among them is Riverside County Sheriff and Republican candidate for California governor, Chad Bianco. In March, Bianco seized more than 600,000 ballots and related election materials from county election offices as part of an investigation into allegations of voter fraud during elections in 2025. California Attorney general Rob Bonta sued. The case is set to be heard by the State Supreme Court.

“We know among some Republicans there is a lens of voter fraud,” said Barreto. “But that’s not actually the majority position, even among Republicans.”

A voter ID initiative recently qualified for the state’s November ballot. If passed, the GOP-backed measure would require voters to show some form of government issued ID at the polls. For mail in ballots voters would need to provide the last four digits of their ID. The bill mirrors similar legislation, the SAVE Act, that President Trump has pushed for at the federal level.

Recent polling found a slim majority of Californians backing the state measure. But in the IGS poll, Schickler said when provided with Republican and Democrat talking points — protecting the election system’s integrity versus a Trump-aligned effort to restrict the vote — “that turns around and there is majority opposition.”

The researchers estimate that up to 1 million registered California voters — a majority low-income voters of color — do not have the requisite ID or the means to acquire one. They would therefore be blocked from casting their vote if the measure passes.

Wide support for state efforts to protect democracy

A large majority of Californians, including 58% of Republicans, also support the state taking a more active role in protecting democracy and expanding voting access. “They want something done,” said Barreto.

A slew of bills aimed at shoring up the state’s elections process are now making their way through the California legislature. These include SB 1164 and SB 1360, authored by Representative Sabrina Cervantes (D – Riverside). Collectively known as the California Voting Rights Act of 2026, the bills target “voter suppression and vote dilution.” They also promise to expand access to the ballot and election materials for limited English-proficient voters.

There was “overwhelming support” among respondents for such efforts, said Barreto. That includes 61% who favored the creation of a statewide Democracy Fund that would, among other things, expand election offices and language access.

The poll came ahead of an April 29 Supreme Court ruling in the case Louisiana v. Callais in which the court’s conservative majority gutted the landmark Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965. The law dramatically expanded voting access for voters of color. Section 2 also barred states with a history of discriminatory voter legislation from enacting laws unduly impacting minority voters.

While the court’s ruling does not do away with Section 2 it does require proof of intentional discrimination, language absent in the original drafting of the law. Writing for the dissent, Justice Elena Kagan described the ruling as the “latest chapter in the majority’s now-completed demolition of the Voting Rights Act.”

Ninety one percent of respondents to the IGS survey described the VRA as a “good idea.” Fifty six percent strongly supported the idea of California enacting its own version of the VRA if SCOTUS does away with it at the federal level. An additional 13% responded they somewhat support the idea.

Democracy still counts

“This is something we’re going to continue to track,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the IGS Poll. “Defending democracy and protecting voting rights will be among the issues that we ask voters, how important is this to you.”

DiCamillo says the question will also be factored into a forthcoming poll on the California governor’s race just ahead of the June primaries.

“The last thing we should worry about on the 250^th anniversary of this nation’s birth is that we will not have our votes counted,” said former Secretary of Health and Human Services and current California gubernatorial candidate, Xavier Becerra.