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US presidential election process broken: Poll

Voters load their ballots into the voting machine as Ohio voters go to the polls for the Ohio primary March 15, 2016, at St George Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. (AFP Photo)

A new poll shows that more than sixty percent of Americans are of the opinion that presidential election process in the US is not functional.

The Gallup survey released Friday shows that some sixty-six percent believe the election system is in a shambles, illustrating a record low.

“Thirty percent of Americans say the presidential election process is working as it should, down from 37% in January,” reads the poll.

The poll attributes the dramatic decrease to “cynical” viewpoints held by Republican presidential hopefuls, but shows that the number has remained steady among Democratic supporters.

“The decline is driven mainly by Republicans' increasingly cynical views as the campaign season has progressed. The percentage of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who say the election process is working has fallen from 46% to 30% since January,” the poll shows.

“Democrats' and Democratic leaners' views haven't changed,” adds the poll which is based on interviews conducted March 16-17.

Overall, the survey shows that both Republicans and Democrats now have analogously "low levels of belief that the election process is working properly, based on their views of the way the presidential campaign is being conducted."

The presidential campaign for Republican nomination has been marred by countless instances of scandals, mudslinging and onstage vulgarity, where rivals have time and again seized opportunities to blacken their opponents and push them down the gutter.

The campaign of Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner, has been marked by controversial statements, including with disparaging remarks about Mexican immigrants and Muslims.

Ted Cruz, currently second behind Trump, has called several times on authorities to step up their policing of Muslim neighborhoods in the United States.

On the Democratic side, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the leading candidate followed by Senator Bernie Sanders.

Sanders' emphasis on US income inequality and influence of corporate money on elections and government has helped him attract large crowds on the campaign trail.

 


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