Poll shows 54 percent of Americans say redistricting makes elections unfair and weakens democracy

WASHINGTON, DC: A new poll found that most Americans believe congressional redistricting is making elections less fair and weakening US democracy, with voters across the political spectrum increasingly expressing frustration over districts viewed as heavily tilted toward one party.

The survey, conducted by CBS News and YouGov ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, highlighted growing dissatisfaction with how congressional maps are drawn and reflected broader voter frustration with the political system as both parties prepare for a high-stakes battle over control of Congress.

Poll finds most voters see redistricting as unfair to democracy

According to the CBS News/YouGov poll, 54 percent of registered voters said this year’s redistricting efforts are making congressional elections more unfair, while 18 percent believe they are making elections fairer. Another 27 percent said the process makes neither a difference toward fairness nor unfairness.

That is because most voters would prefer more competition through districts that do not favor one party over another. Current redistricting efforts are viewed, on balance, as increasing political power for Republicans and decreasing it for Democrats.

58 percent of registered voters believe current redistricting efforts will give Republicans more political power, while only 17 percent said Democrats would gain more power.

Meanwhile, 54 percent said Democrats would lose political power compared to 13 percent who said Republicans would lose influence. Another 29 percent believed the process would have the same impact on both parties.

52 percent of registered voters believe current redistricting efforts will give more political power to White voters, while only 15 percent said Black voters and 15 percent said Hispanic voters would gain more power.

Meanwhile, 48 percent said Black voters would lose political power and 47 percent said Hispanic voters would lose influence, compared to just 9 percent for White voters. Another 39 percent said White voters would see no change, while 37 percent and 38 percent said the same for Black and Hispanic voters, respectively. 

Most voters tend to think the Democratic Party treats both White people and racial minorities equally, but they are more likely to believe the Republican Party puts the interests of White people first. 

Poll shows Trump still dominates Republican voter preferences

The poll also underscored President Donald Trump’s continuing influence over Republican voters heading into the midterms. Though President Trump is not on the ballot this year, three in four Republican voters want a candidate who will support Trump at least most of the time.

This rises to nine in 10 MAGA voters, four in 10 of whom want a candidate who will support everything Trump wants.

Registered voters overall see things differently. They tend to prefer a candidate who will oppose, rather than support, most or all of what Trump wants.

Looking ahead, slightly more voters say they would prefer the Democratic Party, rather than the Republican Party, to take control of Congress next year.

At the same time, registered voters overall said they were generally more likely to prefer candidates willing to oppose Trump rather than fully support him.

Even though more registered voters overall prefer Democrats to take control of Congress, that does not mean they have a more favorable view of the Democratic Party.

Both parties are viewed negatively in roughly equal measure.

This CBS News/YouGov poll was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,064 US adults interviewed from May 13 to 15, 2026.

The sample was weighted to reflect the US adult population by gender, age, race, and education using the US Census American Community Survey, the Current Population Survey, and the 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.7 percentage points for the full sample and ±2.9 percentage points for registered voters.