Public Opinion and Foreign Electoral Intervention

• In Event: Meddling in Elections

Abstract

Despite warnings that foreign interference is part of the new American electoral landscape, we know surprisingly little about its effects on public opinion. In this article, we use experiments to investigate three fundamental questions about U.S. public reactions to foreign election interference. First, to what extent do revelations of foreign meddling polarize the public along partisan lines? Second, does learning about foreign electoral intervention undermine faith in democracy and diminish the desire to vote in the future? Finally, how does election interference affect public support for diplomatic, economic, and military retaliation against the aggressor? Our experiments reveal that even modest forms of electoral intervention provoke public ire and undermine faith in democratic institutions, but that Americans are nonetheless unwilling to retaliate harshly. Moreover, we find that foreign interference polarizes citizens along partisan lines, with citizens responding differently depending on whether interference benefits their party. Our findings suggest that electoral interference can be an effective tactic for manipulating and/or weakening an adversary, without running the risks associated with conventional military intervention.

Authors

• Michael R. Tomz, Stanford University

• Jessica L. P. Weeks, University of Wisconsin-Madison