![](https://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/473c969/2147483647/thumbnail/970x647/quality/85/?url=http://media.beam.usnews.com/2e/6c/33fbd014417698e7b46f89dd2d9f/ap21352082445176.jpg)
A year after the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Americans carry a grim view of the nation’s long-vaunted democracy and maintain deeply partisan views of the integrity of the 2020 election and the motivation of those who mounted the attack, according to a poll released Tuesday morning by Suffolk University.
The national survey, conducted with USA Today, found that 71% believe the nation’s democracy is weaker than it was four years ago. But that superficial unanimity disguises deeper divides: The skepticism is higher among Republicans – 85% of whom believe democracy is weaker compared to 59% of Democrats who agree with the statement.
Racial divisions mirror the demographics of the two party memberships, with 75% of whites, 53% of Black Americans and 59% of Hispanics thinking America’s democracy has weakened in the past four years.
Further, the worries about democracy appear to be rooted in opposing views of the 2020 election results and the actions of Jan. 6. While 96% of Democrats believe President Joe Biden was legitimately elected, just 33% of Republicans believe that to be the case. Two percent of Democrats and 58% of Republicans believe Biden was wrongly inaugurated, despite numerous audits and court cases affirming Biden’s win.
Political Cartoons
Half of poll respondents called the Jan. 6 attackers “criminals,” with 38% saying they “went too far, but had a point,” and 6% declaring the attackers acted appropriately.
And again, there were sharp partisan differences on the views of the insurrectionists. The survey found that 85% of Democrats believed the attackers to be criminals, with 13% saying they went too far, but had a point, and 1 percent saying they acted appropriately, while 17% of Republicans labeled the Jan. 6 attackers as criminals. Nearly two-thirds of GOPers, 66%, said the attackers had a point but went too far, and 11% said they acted appropriately.
“Voters across all political parties agree that the nation’s democracy is in jeopardy,” David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, said in a statement with the release of the poll. “However, Democrats and Republicans are coming to this conclusion from very different places.”
More than 700 people have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attacks, with more than 150 people pleading guilty and 71 sentenced so far, according to tracking by Politico.
Congress is investigating the attack but has run into roadblocks from former President Donald Trump and some of his associates, who are citing executive privilege in refusing to hand over some documents. That matter is in the courts.
House Democrats are eager to finish the investigation this year, since a Republican takeover of the House after this November’s midterm elections – a scenario considered likely by political prognosticators – would almost certainly bring a halt to any inquiry.
The Suffolk poll found that a majority, 53%, of Americans believe the investigation is important for the future of democracy, with 42% saying it’s a waste of time. There, too, there are dramatic divides by party, with 88% of Democrats calling the inquiry important and 10% saying it’s a waste of time, and 78% of GOPers calling the investigation a waste while 18% of Republicans said it was important.
Americans are divided about whether another Jan. 6-type attack could happen, with 46% calling it extremely or somewhat likely and 48% saying it’s not very, or not at all, likely to happen. Democrats fear a repeat of the day the most, with 65% believing it’s somewhat likely or likely to occur. Republicans, while displaying more sympathy for the insurrectionists, nonetheless do not expect a sequel event: 24% think another such attack is somewhat likely or very likely, while a combined 67% do not expect it to happen again.