News / Politics

Over half of Americans say presidential nominating system rigged: Poll

Thursday, 28 April 2016 8:25 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 28 April 2016 10:12 AM ]

Poll shows many Americans do not trust the existing presidential nomination system.

A recent opinion poll shows that over half of voters in the United States believe the system political parties select their candidates for the presidential election is “rigged.”

In a survey carried out by Reuters/ Ipsos on April 21-26, some 51 percent of respondents said the primary system was rigged against some candidates.

71 percent of voters said they preferred to select the party’s candidate themselves with a direct vote.

The poll also revealed that 27 percent of respondents did not clearly know how the primary system works while another 44 percent said they did not know the reason why the delegates act as intermediaries.

Some 1,582 Americans were surveyed in the online poll from April 21 to 26 with a credibility interval of 2.9 percentage points.

People cast their ballots in a polling station during the presidential primary election on April 26, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ©AFP

The US election year begins with primaries and caucuses where people choose delegates or representatives of party members in each state to decide on a contender and send him/her to the national presidential nominating convention held in the summer.

If a party contender fails to collect enough delegates, he/she will lose all delegates in the end.

Many voters in the presidential contests may not realize they are not directly voting for a candidate under the US election system.

The poll’s results echoed criticisms from Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders and Republican candidate Donald Trump that the system is stacked against them in favor the candidates that have closer relations with the political parties.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the crowd during a campaign rally at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum on April 27, 2016. ©AFP

“The system is being rigged by party operatives with 'double-agent' delegates who reject the decision of voters,” Trump wrote in an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

On Tuesday, Trump maintained his commanding lead on fellow Republicans Ted Cruz and John Kasich, gaining victory in the five states with Pennsylvania at 58 percent, Connecticut at 65 percent, Maryland at 61 percent, Delaware at 60 percent and Rhode Island 66 percent.

On the Democratic front, Hilary Clinton scored victories in four Democratic primaries. She won Maryland (66 percent), Pennsylvania (57 percent), and Delaware (59 percent) and Connecticut (50.1 percent) while Vermont Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders won the Rhode Island vote (55 percent).

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk