Democracy and the economy are the top two issues for voters in what could be one of the closest elections in history, exit polls found.
More than one-third said democracy was their top issue, with about three in 10 saying the economy, the network exit polls found. Immigration and abortion also ranked high.
The Associated Press runs a separate Vote Cast poll, which found the economy and immigration are the top issues, but the future of democracy was also a leading motivator for many Americans casting their ballot. Abortion was also high on the list.
The polls – overall – found a sharp divide between voters for Kamala Harris and those supporting Donald Trump.
Harris supporters named democracy their top issue followed by abortion. Trump voters said the economy was their top issue followed by immigration.
Democracy and the economy are the top two issues for voters in what could be one of the closest elections in history , exit polls found. Georgia residents cast their votes on Election Day above
More concerning, all the polls found voters are pessimistic about the future of the country.
Roughly three-quarters of the electorate holds a negative view of the way things are going in the US today, according the network exit polls.
Only about one-quarter call themselves enthusiastic or satisfied with the state of the nation, with more than 4 in 10 dissatisfied and roughly 3 in 10 saying they’re angry.
AP’s VoteCast found about 8 in 10 voters want ‘substantial change’ in how the country is run, including about one-quarter who said they want complete and total upheaval.
About 7 in 10 voters said the country was on the wrong track.
About two-thirds of voters said they were very concerned about the cost of food and groceries. About half had concerns of health care, housing costs and gasoline prices.
Almost 6 in 10 voters said their personal finances were holding steady. But about 3 in 10 described themselves as ‘falling behind,’ a higher share than in 2020.
Donald and Melania Trump voted on Election Day in Palm Beach
Kamala Harris calls voters in a last minute campaign push at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington DC
Your browser does not support iframes.
The AP found that when asked what most influenced their vote, about half of voters identified the future of democracy as the single most important factor.
That was higher than the share who answered the same way about inflation, the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, abortion policy or free speech.
Those issues also outweighed considerations of recent assassination attempts against Trump or the legal cases he is facing, as well as the possibility of Harris becoming the first female president.
Nearly 6 in 10 were very or somewhat concerned that another Trump term would bring the U.S. closer to being an authoritarian country.
As the first polls reached closing time, some battleground states were already reporting high voter turnout despite threats apparently aimed at disrupting voting.
Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia have received suspected Russian-sourced threats, a US official told CNN.
A wide majority of voters, about 7 in 10, say they’re concerned about violence as a result of the election, the network exit polls found.
A polling place in north Austin in Texas
Voters in line to vote in Nevada
Your browser does not support iframes.
Both presidential candidates are focused on turnout.
Trump went to vote on Tuesday. He urged voters to ‘get off that beautiful couch’ and vote.
Harris stopped by Democratic headquarters in Washington DC to help phone bank, bringing volunteers Doritos, which is her favorite snack.
The network exit polls are a combination of in-person interviews with Election Day voters and in-person interviews, telephone and online polls measuring the views of early and absentee by-mail voters. They were conducted by Edison Research on behalf of the National Election Pool.
AP VoteCast is a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. It surveyed more than 110,000 voters and was conducted for eight days, concluding as polls closed
