Staff Reports
The latest Berkeley IGS poll is a wake-up call — though for whom depends on your politics. Overall, most Californians say they trust local election officials to run a fair primary. But look under the hood and you find a big partisan crack. Democrats are mostly confident. A lot of Republicans are not. That gap matters more than the headlines admit.
Berkeley IGS poll finds a sharp partisan split
The late‑May Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll shows about 65% of registered California voters are confident local officials will run a secure, fair primary and return an accurate count. But the split by party is stark: roughly 79% of Democrats express confidence, about 62% of independents do, and just 42% of Republicans say the same. The statewide survey weighed thousands of registered voters — roughly 8,500 in the full sample — and carries a small margin of error, so these numbers are not random noise.
Why Republicans say they don’t trust the system
Berkeley IGS Director Mark DiCamillo points to President Trump and his allies as a big reason for the distrust. “It’s clearly a partisan issue,” he told reporters, noting that strong conservatives are the least confident. That is a fair observation. National leaders shape what their voters believe. But let’s be honest: blaming messaging alone is a dodge. If nearly six in ten Republicans doubt the process, local election officials and state leaders have work to do to earn that trust back — not just lecture voters about who to listen to.
Real consequences and practical fixes
Distrust translates into lower turnout, louder challenges, and pressure for audits or recounts. We should want accountability. Conservatives should demand audits, clear chain‑of‑custody rules, visible signature verification, and bipartisan observers at every step. Officials who worry about being accused of playing politics should welcome transparency. Show the receipts, publish the checks, and make the process so plain that even political opponents nod in agreement.
A simple test for both sides
This poll should be a simple test: for Republicans, don’t let doubt become an excuse for disengagement; for election officials and Democrats, stop assuming trust is automatic. Strengthen transparency and invite scrutiny. That is the only way to close the partisan trust gap in California elections — and to keep our primaries from becoming contests over who believes what rather than who earns votes. Voters deserve systems they trust, and officials deserve to be trusted only if they earn it.
