| | | | |  | | By Madison Fernandez and Lawrence Ukenye | | | | | Election officials are trying to boost voters’ confidence in the process ahead of this year’s presidential election. But is anyone listening? Election officials are not top of mind for Americans who are looking for information about elections, according to a new survey from the Bipartisan Policy Center. Less than a quarter of respondents said they turn to local or county election administrators when seeking out that type of information. Instead, they’re more likely to rely on the news media, candidates or fact checking organizations.
|  Election officials are trying to boost voters' confidence in the process ahead of the presidential election. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo | “They’re doing everything they can to combat misinformation, to build trust, and those efforts are so well intentioned, but this survey shows that in many ways, those efforts risk falling flat,” said Rachel Orey, senior associate director of the Bipartisan Policy Center Elections Project. “Voters aren't consistently reading up on what their election official is posting on Facebook every day. They're much more likely to look to these other sources.” Americans are uneasy ahead of this year’s election. Concerns include inaccurate or misleading information about elections; violence or civil unrest after the election; and attempts to overturn election results. Still, majorities of Americans have confidence that their vote will be counted accurately in the presidential election, including 59 percent of independents, 60 percent of Republicans, and 85 percent of Democrats. But that confidence wavers when those surveyed — especially Republicans — think about elections on the local versus national levels. Among those GOP respondents, 66 percent believe that votes in their community will be counted accurately. Only 50 percent think that votes will be counted accurately on a national level. “That's not something to dismiss,” Orey said of the Republicans who are confident in local elections. “We've had four years of a pretty constant assault on the infrastructure of our elections, and yet we still see this majority of Republican voters who believe that votes will be counted accurately.” Those Americans who don’t think votes are counted accurately at the national level — around a quarter of Republicans and 20 percent among all adults — are sometimes seen as a “lost cause” for election officials, Orey added. But they are paying extra attention to those who do not have a strong opinion about the accuracy of vote counting, which includes 25 percent of Republicans and 16 percent of all adults, to ensure they don’t become skeptical. And because election officials have a hard time breaking through the noisy media landscape, the onus especially falls on the media and candidates to “more ardently” defend the elections process, Orey said. That includes candidates not contesting legitimate election results. So as voters across the country prepare to cast their ballots — and plenty have already done so — how much can their attitudes change ahead of November? “Not much, is the sad reality of it,” Orey said. “I think there is an impact in those local communities. That is where we see higher trust and that could very well be because of all of the work that election officials are putting in to make sure that voters have access to this authoritative information.” The survey was conducted by Morning Consult from Dec. 13-15 among a sample of 2,203 adults, and has a margin of error of +/- 2.0 percentage points. Happy Monday. Reach us at mfernandez@politico.com/@madfernandez616 and lukenye@politico.com/@Lawrence_Ukenye. Days until Super Tuesday: 8 Days until the Republican National Convention: 139 Days until the Democratic National Convention: 175 Days until the 2024 election: 253
| | | | A message from Televisa Univision: Did you know that about 70% of voters rate the AZ economy right now as fair or poor? Leverage TU likely voter data to refine your approach, tailor messaging to resonate culturally, and forge impactful connections. For vital insights into the Arizona primary and Hispanic voter trends, visit hispanicvote.univision.com. | | | | | S.C. PRIMARY ROUNDUP — Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley’s loss to former President Donald Trump in South Carolina has some of her biggest supporters pulling back. Our own Natalie Allison obtained an email from Americans for Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel, who wrote that the group would “take stock” of its spending and stop backing Haley following her loss over the weekend. The loss of the Koch network-backed group is a serious blow for Haley, after AFP Action spent more than $31 million supporting her. And although Haley vowed to stay in the race “until the last person votes,” she signaled on Saturday that her campaign might be coming to an end by only committing to run through Super Tuesday. She’ll continue her campaign by crisscrossing the country visiting several states and participating in various fundraisers in the coming days, and her campaign said she raised $1 million in the 24 hours following South Carolina. Natalie has more. … Haley’s path to securing the GOP nomination became increasingly bleak after her bruising defeat in her home state. Our Steve Shepard writes that the math for Haley to secure additional delegates to the nominating convention will be challenging due to the winner-take-all nature of upcoming Super Tuesday primaries. … But while Trump’s victory against Haley demonstrated his full control of the GOP, it contained several warning signs that highlight the obstacles he faces to returning to the White House. Roughly 40 percent of the state’s primary voters rejected Trump. PENCE, THE VEEPSTAKES GURU — Republicans vying to be Trump’s running-mate are seeking out former Vice President Mike Pence for guidance on how to secure a spot on the former president’s ticket, our Adam Wren reports. Allies of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) have all met with Pence’s allies this year. MICHIGAN DIVIDED — Democratic Majority for Israel is launching an ad campaign aimed at urging voters to vote for President Joe Biden in Michigan’s Democratic primary, The Intercept’s Akela Lacy and Prem Thakker report. The effort comes amid anti-war activists calling on Michiganders to vote “uncommitted” to pressure the Biden administration to support a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. NEW ON THE SCENE — A new pro-Trump super PAC is launching to help the former president take on Biden, per Axios’ Mike Allen. The group, Right for America, has Trump allies Sergio Gor, Lee Rizzuto and Anthony Lomangino at the helm, and billionaire Ike Perlmutter was the first big donor. ENDORSEMENT CORNER — Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told Fox News he is endorsing Trump for president. Thune, the conference’s whip who is second only to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, is the highest-ranking Senate Republican to endorse Trump.
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| | GOP’S IVF SCRAMBLE — A memo sent out by the NRSC on Friday urged GOP candidates to express their support for in vitro fertilization treatments after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are children under state law, our Samantha Latson and Ursula Perano write. Democrats took the opportunity to attack Republicans on the issue, including the DSCC and House Majority PAC, the main super PAC supporting House Democrats. … Hours after the NRSC memo was revealed, Trump posted on Truth Social to urge Alabama lawmakers to protect access to the treatment, our Jessica Piper and Megan Messerly reported. The GOP’s rush to voice support for IVF comes after Biden blamed the former president for the situation for appointing justices to the Supreme Court who overturned protections guaranteed by Roe v. Wade. PRIMARY BEEF — Speaker Mike Johnson traveled to Mar-a-Lago to successfully pitch Trump on endorsing Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) over former Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey, a primary opponent backed by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), CNN’s Manu Raju and Melanie Zanona reported. The trip signals that Johnson is flexing his influence to send a message to Gaetz after he led the push to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. TAKING ON MURPHY — Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) won the Burlington County and Hunterdon County conventions over the weekend in the race for Senate, strengthening his momentum against primary opponent Tammy Murphy, the state’s first lady. Kim has secured resounding victories in three consecutive conventions while capturing the support of rank-and-file Democrats. Our Daniel Han and Katherine Dailey have more.
| | | | A message from Televisa Univision:   | | | | | PRESIDENTIAL — Haley secured a seven-figure national cable and digital ad buy for Super Tuesday states, her campaign manager Betsy Ankney told reporters in a press call. CA-Sen — Standing Strong PAC, the group backing Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, is going after Republican Steve Garvey for voting for Trump twice and calling him “the best person for the job.” It is a bid to elevate Garvey ahead of the all-party primary next week. …Fairshake, a pro-cryptocurrency super PAC, is calling Democratic Rep. Katie Porter “a fake” for her past work with a mortgage servicer. AL-01 — Republican Rep. Barry Moore’s spot touts his votes against funding for Ukraine. CA-20 — Republican Kyle Kirkland’s spot attacks Biden’s “suffocating regulations” and “reckless spending.” IL-12 — Bailey is going after Bost on immigration: “Bost handed out $40 billion in taxpayer dollars to Ukraine instead of funding Trump's border wall,” the narrator says. Meanwhile, Bost is touting his Trump endorsement. MT-02 — Republican Troy Downing emphasizes his military and business experience. NC-10 — Republican state Rep. Grey Mills is attacking primary opponent Pat Harrigan on immigration, tying him to Biden and former President Barack Obama. TX-26 — Republican Brandon Gill is hoping his endorsement from Trump helps him stand out in the crowded primary for the open safe red seat.
| | | | Don’t sleep on it. Get breaking New York policy from POLITICO Pro—the platform that never sleeps—and use our Legislative Tracker to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more. | | | | | | | | | CA-Sen — Schiff has a narrow advantage over his primary opponents, per a poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California. Schiff leads with 24 percent. Porter and Garvey are battling for second, at 19 and 18 percent, respectively. Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee has 10 percent (1,075 likely voters, Feb. 6-13, MoE +/- 3.9 percentage points). CODA: QUOTE OF THE DAY — “My head is spinning. Are you kidding me? You were torturing me not that many years ago. And now you're making excuses for this guy over here? I don’t get it.” — Former Republican South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who was attacked in 2009 for saying he was hiking the Appalachian Trail when he was actually cheating on his wife in Argentina, on Trump’s grip in the state.
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