A new poll finds the presidential election is not settled yet for some New Yorkers. Three weeks after Election Day, 20% of respondents say it’s too early to tell who actually won.
The Siena College poll measures the polarization, even in blue state New York, when it comes to politics. Even though Democrat and former Vice President Joe Biden was declared the winner of the race on Nov. 7 and has 306 Electoral College votes and 6 million more popular votes than his opponent, 20% of New Yorkers say it’s too early to tell who won. Also, 9% say they believe Republican President Donald Trump won reelection.
Siena’s Steve Greenberg said part of the reason is that people now get their news from very different sources.
“The president has been saying that ‘he won, he won, he won,’ and ‘fraud, fraud, fraud,’ ” Greenberg said. “And a lot of people who support this president, agree with him.”
Still, nearly 70% of New Yorkers believe that Biden did win and Greenberg said that number is likely to rise now that the head of the federal General Services Administration, or GSA, on Monday declared Biden the winner. Emily Murphy’s decision gives the Biden transition team access to top security briefings and key members of the coronavirus task force, as well as office space and secure computers and phone lines.
The poll also asked New Yorkers about state leaders. It found, that while Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s rating has slipped a bit, from 59% to 57%, the majority back Cuomo’s use of special emergency powers to lead the state’s efforts against the pandemic.
Nearly half of New Yorkers think the No. 1 issue for Cuomo and the State Legislature in 2021 is battling the coronavirus. And two-thirds say they plan to get a vaccine when it becomes available.
