A poll released Monday by Ipsos and National Public Radio (NPR) revealed pessimism and concern over the future of American democracy. The poll, which was conducted online between December 17 and December 20, sampled 1,126 American adults. Roughly half of the participants identified as Democrats and half Republicans, with around ten percent identifying as independents.

The first finding revealed that 64 percent of people polled feel that American democracy is failing and 70 percent feel that America itself is failing. While both Republicans and Democrats have a consensus on the question, 47 percent of Republicans “strongly agree” with the idea that America is at risk of failing, compared to only 29 percent of Democrats.

The poll also probed Americans on the events at the US Capitol that occurred almost one year ago. The poll found that Democrats and Republicans who regularly consume political media had significantly different opinions on the nature of the events. There was nearly a 50 percent difference between members of the parties when asked whether or not the events constituted an “attempted coup.”

The last set of poll questions covered election security. 65 percent of Americans said they accepted the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. Moreover, over 48 percent of Americans agreed that fraud did not determine the outcome of the election. Lastly, 49 percent of Americans felt that standardizing election procedures across states would lead to more fair elections. Only 19 percent of participants felt that it would lead to less fair elections.

The results come amidst growing political polarization in the US. Though the results of the poll mostly confirmed this polarization, the results centering on election standardization provide some encouragement for agreement amongst Americans going forward.