WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� While and emerged as the dominant themes in this year's , another issue was prominent in the minds of voters for both major candidates: the stakes for .
Half of voters identified democracy as the single most important motivating factor for their vote. That was higher than the share of voters who answered the same way about inflation, the situation at the , or free speech, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide.
Notably, backers of and Republican , the president-elect, saw the issue from different perspectives.
About two-thirds of Harris voters said the was the most important factor for their votes. No other topic 鈥� high prices, abortion policy, free speech or the potential of the first woman to be elected as president 鈥� was as big a factor for her supporters. Harris especially leaned into this messaging toward : She said Trump was a threat to undermine the country's founding ideals and she called him .
The sentiment was supported by of the first Trump administration who warned about his . Trump refused the peaceful transfer of power while in the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden. And on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump also a mob of his supporters to after telling them to
Audrey Wesley, 90, of Minneapolis cited Trump鈥檚 and his as one of the reasons she supported Harris.
鈥淥ur system is broken,鈥� she said.
Wesley said one of the things that troubled her most was , a detailed for the next Republican administration. Trump has said he had not read , even though many members of his first administration had a hand in creating it.
"That鈥檚 very scary as to what he wants to do,鈥� Wesley said.
The idea that democracy is under attack also motivated Trump voters, but in starkly different ways. About one-third of his supporters said democracy was the most important factor for their vote.
A further breakdown of the survey found that 9 in 10 Harris voters who indicated democracy was the single most important factor in their vote were somewhat or very concerned that electing Trump would bring the country . About 8 in 10 Trump voters felt electing Harris would bring the country closer to authoritarianism. 鈥淒emocracy voters鈥� who supported Harris and Trump were equally concerned that the opposing candidate's views were too extreme.
The findings in recent surveys by AP VoteCast and . While has been one of the few crossover concerns among a fractured electorate, people have differed on why they are worried about it and who is responsible for the threat.
Debbie Dooley, 66, and a co-founder of the tea party movement, had several important factors in her voting decision, all leading to concern over what would happen to the country under another Democratic administration.
鈥淚 think it was Thomas Jefferson who said when people fear their government, there is tyranny,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e had tyranny under the Biden-Harris machine.鈥�
Dooley, a longtime Trump supporter, cited the nation's 鈥渙pen border鈥� and concerns by many conservatives about crimes caused by migrants who had circumvented the law. The resident of Cumming, Georgia, also agreed with Trump's contention that the Biden administration had unleashed the Department of Justice on political adversaries.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 something they do in Russia. That鈥檚 something they would do in China, not the United States, not here in the beacon of freedom for the world,鈥� Dooley said.
Republicans have held for nearly two years but have provided little substance to the claim that Biden has 鈥渨eaponized鈥� the department.
Like many other conservatives, Dooley also felt social media companies had silenced their voices, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
鈥漈hank God for Elon Musk," she said. "Twitter or X is a totally different place now than it was before he took over, so we have First Amendment rights. It's free speech.鈥�
The survey found that nearly all 鈥渄emocracy voters鈥� who supported Trump said freedom of speech was at least a factor in their vote. It was a less prominent issue for Trump voters who said democracy was a minor factor or not at a factor in their choice.
Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Dartmouth College, said the opposing views about which side posed a threat to democracy are understandable because both campaigns had spoken about the other in those terms. And because democracy is an abstract issue, what constitutes a threat can vary.
鈥淗arris talked a lot about democracy, and the Democratic coalition talked a lot about the threats to democracy,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o it's not surprising that many Democrats correctly perceived Trump as a threat and name it as one of the most important issues.鈥�
The fact that Republicans echoed the claim against Harris would seem unusual, but one of Trump鈥檚 political strategies is to appropriate an attack against him and turn it around against his opponent. Nyhan said Trump did that successfully with the democracy argument.
Border protection, for example, could mean one thing to a Harris backer and something quite different to a Trump voter who might support the idea of the great replacement conspiracy theory 鈥� the notion that the influence of whites is being diminished through illegal immigration.
In her concession speech at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington, Harris alluded to the importance of accepting election results even in a loss and peacefully transferring power, which Trump has on whether he would view the as fair.
鈥淭hat principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny,鈥� Harris said.
Leah Wright Rigueur, a history professor at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said the processes of democracy as expressed through the presidential vote won, for now.
鈥淭he 2024 presidential election was fundamentally, as far as I understand, an example of democracy in action. Trump won the Electoral College. Trump won the popular votes," she said.
The question is whether the country would be as peaceful if the outcome were different and how does the nation close that fissure in the future when a 鈥渧ery vocal cross section鈥� of the American public sees democracy working only 鈥渨hen my side wins, but tyranny when your side wins?鈥�
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The Associated Press鈥痳eceives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP鈥檚 democracy initiative . The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Gary Fields And Linley Sanders, The Associated Press
