Officials' ratings of functioning of democracy in the US
We’d like to ask more broadly about your opinion of the state of our democracy as a system of government. Think about things like free and fair elections, rule of law, an unbiased free press, balanced relationships between levels and branches of government, ethical and transparent governance, an informed and engaged electorate, etc. On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is a total breakdown of democracy and 10 is perfectly functioning democracy, how would you rate the functioning of democracy today in the United States?
Total | |
1: Total breakdown of democracy | 19% |
2 | 19% |
3 | 15% |
4 | 12% |
5 | 12% |
6 | 8% |
7 | 6% |
8 | 3% |
9 | 1% |
10: Perfectly functioning democracy | 1% |
Don't know | 5% |
County | Township | City | Village | Total | |
1: Total breakdown of democracy | 12% | 21% | 10% | 22% | 19% |
2 | 10% | 21% | 16% | 15% | 19% |
3 | 15% | 14% | 16% | 16% | 15% |
4 | 15% | 11% | 17% | 11% | 12% |
5 | 18% | 10% | 15% | 15% | 12% |
6 | 15% | 7% | 12% | 5% | 8% |
7 | 7% | 5% | 7% | 7% | 6% |
8 | 2% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 3% |
9 | 3% | 1% | 3% | 0% | 1% |
10: Perfectly functioning democracy | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 1% |
Don't know | 4% | 6% | 2% | 7% | 5% |
<1500 | 1500-5000 | 5001-10000 | 10001-30000 | >30000 | Total | |
1: Total breakdown of democracy | 24% | 19% | 16% | 7% | 8% | 19% |
2 | 19% | 21% | 14% | 19% | 13% | 19% |
3 | 13% | 15% | 19% | 14% | 21% | 15% |
4 | 11% | 12% | 12% | 15% | 17% | 12% |
5 | 11% | 11% | 16% | 15% | 11% | 12% |
6 | 6% | 8% | 11% | 9% | 12% | 8% |
7 | 5% | 5% | 5% | 9% | 5% | 6% |
8 | 3% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 4% | 3% |
9 | 1% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 6% | 1% |
10: Perfectly functioning democracy | 1% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Don't know | 7% | 4% | 3% | 6% | 1% | 5% |
Upper Peninsula | Northern Lower Peninsula | West Central Lower Peninsula | East Central Lower Peninsula | Southwest Lower Peninsula | Southeast Lower Peninsula | Total | |
1: Total breakdown of democracy | 20% | 19% | 17% | 23% | 21% | 14% | 19% |
2 | 16% | 19% | 18% | 21% | 21% | 16% | 19% |
3 | 16% | 14% | 16% | 14% | 16% | 15% | 15% |
4 | 11% | 15% | 14% | 11% | 9% | 13% | 12% |
5 | 11% | 14% | 14% | 7% | 10% | 14% | 12% |
6 | 6% | 6% | 9% | 7% | 8% | 12% | 8% |
7 | 8% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 6% | 6% |
8 | 6% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 3% |
9 | 0% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 1% | 3% | 1% |
10: Perfectly functioning democracy | 2% | 1% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 1% |
Don't know | 4% | 5% | 3% | 7% | 6% | 4% | 5% |
Rural | Mostly rural | Mostly urban | Urban | Don't Know | Total | |
1: Total breakdown of democracy | 23% | 16% | 7% | 5% | 21% | 19% |
2 | 19% | 20% | 15% | 18% | 0% | 19% |
3 | 15% | 16% | 17% | 12% | 8% | 15% |
4 | 11% | 13% | 19% | 16% | 0% | 12% |
5 | 10% | 14% | 11% | 19% | 15% | 12% |
6 | 8% | 9% | 8% | 3% | 12% | 8% |
7 | 4% | 5% | 11% | 14% | 0% | 6% |
8 | 2% | 3% | 6% | 3% | 0% | 3% |
9 | 1% | 1% | 4% | 5% | 5% | 1% |
10: Perfectly functioning democracy | 0% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 6% | 1% |
Don't know | 6% | 3% | 3% | 4% | 35% | 5% |