A recent survey reveals that nearly half of Republicans are unlikely to accept the outcome of the presidential election if their candidate is defeated. A portion of these individuals indicated they would consider “taking action to overturn” the election results.

In contrast, about 25% of Democrats expressed that they would reject the election results in the event of their candidate’s loss, with a smaller percentage indicating they would take steps to challenge those results.

This information was gathered by the nonpartisan World Justice Project, which tracks the strength of legal systems across more than 100 countries. The survey involved online interviews with 1,046 households in the U.S. conducted from June 10 to June 18.

The study did not specify what types of “action” respondents might take to contest the election results. It found that 46% of Republicans and 27% of Democrats would not accept the election outcome, while 14% of Republicans and 11% of Democrats would consider “taking action.”

According to Elizabeth Andersen, the executive director of the organization, these findings are “quite surprising,” suggesting that about one-third of Americans may not accept the presidential election results if their candidate loses.

Additionally, only 29% of Republicans believe the electoral process is free from corruption, which is notably lower than the 56% of Democrats who share that belief. A significant divide exists regarding the accuracy of vote counting, with just 43% of Republicans agreeing that votes are counted accurately, compared to 84% of Democrats.

Democrats are also less likely than Republicans to think that voting is easily accessible or that voting rights are equitable for all citizens.

“There’s a noticeable lack of trust in the voting process, particularly among Republicans, but also among some Democrats,” Andersen stated. “This lack of trust could lead to potential conflicts following the election.”

Furthermore, a recent study from the Public Religion Research Institute indicated that one in six Americans is in favor of political violence, with about one in four being Republicans.

Similarly, a report by the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice at NYU highlighted that 36% of local election officials have faced harassment or abuse, and 16% reported being threatened.

A majority of election officials surveyed (70%) noted an increase in threats since 2020, while almost 30% said the level of threats has remained consistent.