Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

12-5-2024

Faculty Advisor(s)

Dr. Ann Gordon

Abstract

Millions claim the 2020 presidential election was stolen; there was even an insurrection to try and stop the election from being certified. Despite the lack of evidence, too many people trust politicians who claim elections were rigged or stolen. In this paper, I will study the type of person who fears widespread voter fraud, what media sources are pushing voter fraud headlines, as well as the patterns in social media usage when related to fearing voter fraud. I will do this by using the Chapman survey of American fears, a representative national sample of U.S. adults in 2024. I found that there are strong correlations to an increased fear in widespread voter fraud by people who get their information from Fox News compared to any other news source. I also found an adequate connection between people fearing widespread voter fraud and fearing corrupt government officials. The biggest correlation I found was between people fearing widespread illegal immigration and widespread voter fraud. Interestingly, I found no evidence that people who get their news from social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) have increased fear of voter fraud. In a nation as divided as we see today, any person, organization, or platform pushing false, harmful narratives about elections being stolen or cheated needs to be called out, and people have the right to know what is really going on.

Comments

Presented at the Fall 2024 Student Scholar Symposium at Chapman University.

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