Fifty-five percent (55%) of voters believe letting government bureaucrats set rules without approval of Congress or voters is a major threat to democracy. A Scott Rasmussen national survey found that 45% say the same about the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
Twenty-four percent (24%) see the 2017 shooting of Republican members of Congress at a softball practice as a major threat to democracy. Eighteen percent (18%) believe requiring voters to show photo identification before voting is such a threat.
Seventy-four percent (74%) of Republicans see letting bureaucrats set rules without approval is a major threat. Seventy-one percent (71%) of Democrats view the events of January 6 that way. As for Independent voters, 40% see bureaucratic rule making as a threat and 35% think the assault on the Capitol qualifies as a major threat.
A majority of those with a post-graduate degree (58%) see the January 6 assault as a major threat. Among those highly educated voters, 47% see bureaucratic rule making as a threat.
As for those with a bachelor’s degree or less, a solid majority view letting bureaucrats set rules as a major threat to democracy. Just under half say the same about January 6.
Earlier polling found that 82% of voters disapprove of those who took part in the occupation of the U.S. Capitol. That total included a majority of those who believe President Donald Trump was the legitimate winner of Election 2020.
Other recent polling found similar disapproval of letting bureaucrats establish rules without approval, If government experts and intellectuals recommended a policy that voters strongly opposed, just 19% believe the government follow the policy recommended by experts.
In his most recent column, Scott Rasmussen looked at why Americans distrust government experts.
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Note: Neither Scott Rasmussen, ScottRasmussen.com, nor RMG Research, Inc. have any affiliation with Rasmussen Reports. While Scott Rasmussen founded that firm, he left more than seven years ago and has had no involvement since that time.
Methodology
The survey of 1,200 Registered Voters was conducted by Scott Rasmussen using a mixed mode approach from June 22-24, 2021. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Most respondents were contacted online or via text while 205 were contacted using automated phone polling techniques. Online respondents were selected from a list of Registered Voters and through a process of Random Digital Engagement. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of Registered Voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population.
