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SACROMENTO — A overwhelming number of voters in California think American democracy is being threatened, or at least being tested, according to a new poll released Thursday by the UC Berkeley Government Institute.
A poll conducted for nonprofits Evelyn and the Walter Haas Jr. Fund found that concerns would be reduced across the partisan spectrum. They are shared regardless of income or level of education, race or ethnicity. Californians, young and old, who live in large and rural cities and rural areas, expressed similar uncertainty.
“I think it’s pretty dangerous right now. The concerns are justified,” said Eric Sickler, co-director of the Berkeley Institute. “Our democracy is not healthy when we have a president acting to stop the money being spent unilaterally.
The survey found that 64% of California voters believe American democracy is under attack, while 26% say they felt their government system was being tested but not under attack. The polls did not examine voters accusing democracy of putting democracy at risk.
Democrats who control voters in California are the most frightening, saying 81% are under attack and 16% say democracy is being tested. Of those registered as “no party preferences,” or those registered with other political parties, 61% said that democracy was being assaulted, and 32% said they were being tested.
Republicans expressed more faith. Almost a quarter of those voted said they felt democracy was not at risk. However, 38% said they were under attack, while 39% said they were tested but not attacked.
In California, concerns may have been anticipated in California given the widespread and relentless government upheaval since President Trump took office in January. However, the shared opinions of Republicans show how widespread concerns are about the future of a country that is considered a global beacon of freedom and democracy.
Emily Ekins, polling director at the Libertarian Cato Institute in Washington, said these findings are evidence of a volatile new development in American politics.
“A few years ago, Republicans felt that democracy was at risk, and now Democrats feel that democracy is at risk. I think this is pretty worrying, because people are beginning to see the interests of each election as increasingly high.” “They may feel that they may lose their rights and freedoms. They may not feel that the rules apply to them anymore because they feel that so many are on the line.”
Sickler said the political perception among Republicans was recently fed by Trump’s unfounded claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. Continuing allegations in the US sector. Justice and the “deep state” federal bureaucracy, including the FBI, has been weaponized against him since his first term also contributed to the terror.
These claims have been expanded by conservative news outlets, including Fox News, to expand on Trump’s loyalists on social media, popular podcasts and talk shows.
In particular, after the Trump administration sent the U.S. Marines and California State Guard onto the streets of Los Angeles, and then sent the U.S. Marines and California State Guard onto the streets of Los Angeles during widespread federal immigrant raids and subsequent protests, Sickler said even Republicans who support the president and support his tenure are likely to be concerned about discord in American politics.
He said the recent decision by media companies to resolve Trump’s lawsuits over complaints about stories and reports is also concerning.
This month, Paramount Global decided to pay $16 million to resolve Trump’s lawsuit in a “60-minute” interview with then-President Kamala Harris. The president argued that it was done to support her presidential election against him. Paramount leaders hope the settlement will help Trump-appointed regulators clear their path to congratulating David Ellison on his $8 billion sale to Skydance Media.
“That’s not how democracy works,” Sickler said. “I think voter concerns are rooted in reality. They’ve been built for a while. They haven’t just started in 2025, but they’ve gradually become more serious over the last 20 or 30 years.”
The survey found that 75% of California voters believe that special interests have a strong or to some extent that they have too much impact on state politics.
The slim majority of California voters had little or no confidence that Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature would do it in the best interests of its people. According to the poll, 42% of voters said they have a lot of faith in the newspapers that they act in the interest of the masses. 53% said they trusted their actions a little or absolutely trusted them.
The surveyors had similar feelings about the Congress.
The court receives the most advantageous mark, with 57% of voters saying they trust the judicial system to act in the best interests of the people.
Technology companies and their leaders were labelled as completely unreliable by 58% of those surveyed.
Russia Chavis Cardenas, deputy director of Common Causes for the nonpartisan government accountability group California, who received grants from the Haas Fund that supports the vote, said it shows how much influence the influence of special interests in Sacramento is.
“I want to see people of all races, so that they can have representation so that they can engage in and have a say in every party, every race, every race, and their democracy,” said Chavis Cardinas.
“So these numbers are concerned, but we’re not lying,” she said. “They are aware of the influence that the people here in California have, and are informing us that tech companies have too much power over elected officials.”
The poll looked at 6,474 registered voters across California between June 2 and 6.
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