Restoring Electoral Confidence: Different Cues for Strong and Weak Partisans

Since the 2020 presidential race and allegations of voter fraud, distrust in U.S. elections has continued to rise, particularly among Republicans, with only one-third believing that the 2024 election will be honest and open. Such widespread distrust poses substantial risks for the future of American democracy. Yet, it remains unclear how electoral confidence can be restored. In two pre-registered experiments (N = 1,292), we test three potential pathways: (1) exposure to Republican politicians reaffirming the legitimacy of the 2020 election (i.e., elite in-party cues), (2) receiving information about non-elite Republicans' beliefs regarding the 2020 election (i.e., non-elite in-party cues), and (3) combined exposure to elite and non-elite in-party cues. We find that combined exposure to elite and non-elite in-party cues, as well as sole exposure to elite in-party cues, increases future election trust and perceived legitimacy of the 2020 election among Republicans. However, there exists significant heterogeneity between self-identified strong and moderate Republicans. Among strong Republicans, sole exposure to elite cues increased future election trust and perceived legitimacy of the 2020 election. Yet, combined elite and non-elite cues yield non-significant effects on future election trust and weak, inconsistent effects on perceived legitimacy of the 2020 election. Conversely, among moderate Republicans, only combined elite and non-elite cues consistently increase future election trust and perceived legitimacy of the 2020 election. These results demonstrate the importance of tailoring efforts to restore election support for different populations.