Citizens’ perceptions of the quality of democracy in the American states

Abstract

ObjectiveWe examine the relationship between citizens’ evaluations of democratic performance in their state of residence and demographic, political, and institutional factors.MethodsWe fielded two original surveys (summer 2021 and summer 2022) that asked respondents to evaluate democratic performance in their state both in general and for specific metrics.ResultsCitizens who identify with the political party that controls state government have more positive evaluations of state democratic performance while Republicans (controlling for a litany of covariates) have more negative evaluations. Strikingly, citizens’ perceptions are not related to an objective measure of state democratic performance even when they are primed with information about where their state ranks in a survey experiment.ConclusionCitizens’ assessments of democratic quality appear to be yet another feature of American politics that has become politicized and polarized, with important implications for system support and legitimacy going forward.