Republican voters appear to have been victimized by Democrat dirty tricks this election, and it’s showing up in attitudes about our electoral process – and frankly, that’s not good for the future of our country.

According to a new Morning Consult survey, GOP trust in the system has plummeted by 50 percent since Election Day, as President Donald Trump’s campaign alleges voter fraud and improprieties in several battleground states he won in 2016.

“Three days after every major media outlet called the election for former Vice President Joe Biden, President Donald Trump has shown no signs of conceding as he continues to push baseless claims of widespread fraud,” the polling firm says on its website

“The campaign he is waging against the integrity of the election, which first took root months ago, has had a major impact on how Republicans perceive the results,” the pollster added.

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Here are the “key takeaways” conducted Nov. 6-9, 2020 among 1,987 registered voters nationwide:

7 in 10 Republicans say the 2020 election was not free and fair: 48 percent of Republicans say it “definitely” was not free and fair, and another 22 percent say it “probably” was not. That’s twice the share of Republicans who said the race would not be free and fair just before the election.

Republicans are most skeptical of the Pennsylvania results: Just 23 percent of Republican voters say they believe the results in the Keystone State are reliable, and no more than 3 in 10 say the same about the results in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin. Additionally, even for states like Texas and Florida, where Trump is projected to safely win, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say the results are reliable. 

Overall trust in elections plummets among Republicans: Prior to the election, 68 percent of GOP voters said they had at least some trust in the U.S. election system. Post-election, that dropped to 34 percent. Democratic trust, meanwhile, jumped from 66 percent to 78 percent.

Among voters who doubt the 2020 election’s validity, mail-in voting is seen as the main culprit: Nearly 4 in 5 voters who say they don’t believe the election was free and fair cite widespread voter fraud caused by mail-in voting as a reason why. Additionally, 72 percent cite ballot tampering as a reason and 51 percent say the media gave the candidates unequal attention. 

Despite outstanding concerns, most voters don’t expect the results to be overturned: 63 percent of registered voters, including 75 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of Republicans, say it is unlikely that the election results will be overturned.

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What’s really telling is that last finding: ‘Most voters don’t expect the results to be overturned.’ 

That’s really scary because if the results are definitely found to have been tainted (actually, that’s already happened) and to a measure that would have put the president within striking distance in some states or even ahead of Dem rival Joe Biden – and they’re not changed or reversed – at least half the country will no longer trust results for the foreseeable future.

And actually, that may just be what the Democrats want: Mistrust in our electoral processes so they can change them to something that favors them. Stayed tuned for more analysis on that point in the near future.

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Kutztown grad specializing in political drama and commentary. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter.