Research note: Explicit voter fraud conspiracy cues increase belief among co-partisans but have broader spillover effects on confidence in elections

Abstract

In this pre-registered experiment, we test the effects of conspiracy cue content in the context of the 2020 U.S. elections. Specifically, we varied whether respondents saw an explicitly stated conspiracy theory, one that was merely implied, or none at all. We found that explicit cues about rigged voting machines increase belief in such theories, especially when the cues target the opposing political party. Explicit cues also decrease confidence in elections regardless of the targeted party, but they have no effect on satisfaction with democracy or support for election security funding. Thus, conspiratorial cues can decrease confidence in institutions, even among the out-party and irrespective of a change in conspiracy beliefs. The results demonstrate that even in a landscape saturated in claims of fraud, voters still respond to novel explicit cues.