According to election day polls, the issues that American voters are most concerned about are the economy and the current state of democracy.
The survey, officially known as the Voter Poll, interviewed tens of thousands of American voters to understand their opinions and voting motives, and analyzed them by age, gender, education and other demographic characteristics.
Polling company SSRS was commissioned by a consortium of news organizations to collect the data. The survey is based on a representative sample of the U.S. electorate and spans pre-election surveys as well as exit polls of early and same-day voters.
Here are some results from the 2026 voter poll. Like all polls, these numbers are estimates and may be updated as more data comes in.
Most important issue: Economy
In a survey involving more than 79,000 people, 39% of the respondents said that the economy is the most important issue; 32% believed that the current situation of democracy is the most important.
This is followed by immigration issues (14%). When it comes to health care, foreign policy and crime, lower percentages of voters say they are top issues.
Data shows that a majority of U.S. voters have a negative view of overall economic conditions.
75% of respondents think the economic situation is "not very good or bad"; only 25% think it is "very good or excellent".
As for their family's financial situation, 44% said it was worse than two years ago, 38% said it was about the same, and 18% said it had improved.
Majority says Trump policies 'worsened economy'
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of voters surveyed believe that President Trump’s policies have worsened the U.S. economic situation.
In contrast, 28% think Trump's policies have improved economic conditions, and only 8% think he has had no impact.
The survey also asked whether supporting or opposing Trump was one of the reasons they voted.
43% of respondents said that expressing opposition to Trump was one of the reasons for voting; 41% said that Trump was not an influencing factor. Only 16% said supporting Trump was the reason for their vote.
Voters are dissatisfied with the current state of America
38% of respondents said they were angry about the current direction of the United States; another 37% expressed dissatisfaction.
Only 18% said they were satisfied and 7% said they were excited.
In other words, the majority of voters surveyed told SSRS that they were not satisfied with the current situation in the country.
In addition, up to 90% of the respondents said that government corruption is an important or key factor affecting their voting.
Rising Prices: Stressing Most Americans
In addition to macro issues, the survey also asked about the impact of inflation and rising prices on people's lives.
Nearly 80% (79%) of voters said that inflation has caused serious or moderate difficulties to themselves and their families in the past year.
Only 21% of respondents said they were not affected at all.
59% of voters said they were "very worried" about the price of gasoline and diesel; 58% expressed the same level of concern about the price of food and daily necessities.
62% of respondents believe that higher-than-normal prices are mainly related to Trump’s policies.
38% believe that it is largely affected by external factors beyond their control.
Most believe "wrong decision was made regarding Iran"
The poll also showed that about 60% of the respondents (62%) believed that the United States’ military action against Iran was a wrong decision.
About 40% (38%) think this is the right decision.
In addition, 74% of voters said that this conflict was an important or key factor affecting their congressional vote.
26% believed that this was only a secondary factor or not a voting consideration at all.
How do different ethnic groups vote?
The voter poll also provides a look at the voting preferences of different groups of voters.
National data shows that 57% of women support Democratic House candidates, compared with 41% of Republicans. Male voters are more evenly divided, with support for both parties close to 50%.
Broken down by age, nearly two-thirds of voters under the age of 45 said they voted for the Democratic Party. Middle-aged voters aged 45 to 64 showed five waves, with 49% supporting the Democratic Party and 48% supporting the Republican Party.
Slightly more than half of voters over the age of 65 support Republican candidates; 47% support the Democratic Party.
According to estimates, 51% of white voters nationwide voted Republican and 47% supported Democrats.
Other ethnic groups are more inclined to support the Democratic Party. About 60% of Hispanic and Latino voters support the Democratic Party and 35% support the Republican Party.
