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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Ted Cruz stated on January 6, 2021 in a speech on the Senate floor: “39% of Americans … 31% of independents ... 17% of Democrats believe the election was rigged.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" mostly-false/6a6ef6075c162fdccf5eb960e683dcd1.jpg.\\") ![\\"barely- true\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * Corrections and Updates * Elections * Ted Cruz ![\\"Sen.](\\" Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, seconds the objection to Arizona\'s Electoral College certification from the 2020 presidential election as a joint session of Congress convenes to confirm the Electoral College votes cast in November\'s election, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP) ![\\"Miriam](\\" By Miriam Valverde January 6, 2021 # Ted Cruz’s misleading statement on people who believe the election was ‘rigged’ #### If Your Time is short * Cruz’s claim is based on a specific poll and the total percentage of respondents in a survey who agreed \"somewhat\" or \"strongly\" with the statement: \"I am concerned that the election is rigged.\" * But another question in the survey asked people more directly about their view of the election. The percentage of people who said the election outcome was \"the result of illegal voting or election rigging\" is much lower than the numbers Cruz cited. See the sources for this fact-check As Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, challenged Arizona’s presidential election results on the Senate floor, he claimed that it’s not just Republicans who think the election was \"rigged.\" A sizable percentage of independents and Democrats believed so, too, he claimed. \"Recent polling shows that 39% of Americans believe the election that just occurred was ‘rigged.’ You may not agree with that assessment, but it is nonetheless a reality for nearly half the country,\" said Cruz. \"I would note it is not just Republicans who believe that. 31% of independents agree with that statement. 17% of Democrats believe the election was rigged.\" President-elect Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election. State election officials and courts have said that allegations from Trump and his allies about fraud in the election are meritless. Congress met in a joint session Jan. 6 to affirm Biden’s victory and count the Electoral College votes, but broke into separate discussions in the House and Senate chambers to consider objections to the tally from Arizona. Cruz’s statement on the Senate floor came before a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, forcing a halt to the constitutional procedure. We checked Cruz’s claim about the percentages of people who believe the election was \"rigged,\" and found it misleading. Cruz made a similar claim in a Jan. 2 statement, citing Reuters/Ipsos polling. Reuters/Ipsos poll results The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted between Nov. 13-17. The online survey included a sample of 1,346 American adults. The sample included 598 Democrats, 496 Republicans and 149 independents. (Some respondents did not identify as any of the three.) The survey asked respondents to indicate: \"how much you agree or disagree\" with the statement: \"I am concerned that the election is rigged.\" Here are the results: All respondents: * Strongly agree: 22% * Somewhat agree: 17% * Somewhat disagree: 17% * Strongly disagree: 37% * Not sure: 7% Independents: * Strongly agree: 14% * Somewhat agree: 17% * Somewhat disagree: 21% * Strongly disagree: 30% * Not sure: 17% Democrats: #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on August 18, 2024 in X post Photo shows “pallets or containers of bricks have been found near locations designated for protests related to the Democratic National Convention” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • August 20, 2024 * Strongly agree: 7% * Somewhat agree: 10% * Somewhat disagree: 18% * Strongly disagree: 62% * Not sure: 3% Cruz\'s office said he arrived at the figures in his claim by adding the percentages for \"strongly agree\" and \"somewhat agree.\" But his overall claim is not the most accurate interpretation of the polling results, according to Ipsos. \"Our perspective is that question isn’t a definitive statement that the election was in fact rigged. For that, we use a separate question in the same survey,\" Chris Jackson, an Ipsos pollster, told PolitiFact. The survey also asked: \"What comes close to your view of the 2020 election?\" The choices were \"legitimate and accurate,\" \"the result of illegal voting or election rigging,\" or \"don’t know.\" \"The result of illegal voting or election rigging\" was chosen by 28% all respondents, 20% of independents, and 6% of Democrats. Those figures are much lower than what Cruz cited. For Cruz to back his point, the \"more accurate number to cite\" would be the lower percentages, Jackson said on Twitter. \"And of that 28%, the large, large majority (79%) are Republicans. The plurality get their news from Fox (31%), other sources (18%) or don\'t follow news (24%), suggesting belief in rigging is a bit circular,\" Jackson tweeted. It’s also worth noting that the poll was done in mid-November, as legal challenges from Trump’s campaign were still ongoing. Other polls about the election phrased their questions differently, but generally, they show that most Americans trusted the results and thought the 2020 election was free and fair. Republicans were less likely to trust the outcome. One poll from the Monmouth University Polling Institute found that \"confidence in the election’s fairness went up among both independents (from 56% to 69%) and Democrats (from 68% to 90%) pre-election to post-election.\" Our ruling Cruz said 39% of Americans, 31% of independents, and 17% of Democrats \"believe the election was rigged.\" Cruz’s office said his claim is based on a specific poll and the total percentage of respondents who \"somewhat\" or \"strongly\" agreed with the statement: \"I am concerned that the election is rigged.\" That doesn’t necessarily mean they thought it was rigged. Another question in the survey asked people more directly about their view of the election. The percentage of people who said the election was \"the result of illegal voting or election rigging\" was much lower than the numbers Cruz cited. Other polls show far greater confidence in the integrity of the election. Cruz’s statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it Mostly False. **UPDATE, Jan. 6, 7:30 p.m.:** This fact-check was updated to incorporate the response from Cruz\'s office. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Twitter, @SenTedCruz tweet, Jan. 6, 2021 Twitter, @jcbjackson tweet, tweet, tweet, Jan. 6, 2021 Sen. Ted Cruz website, Joint Statement from Senators Cruz, Johnson, Lankford, Daines, Kennedy, Blackburn, Braun, Senators-Elect Lummis, Marshall, Hagerty, Tuberville, Jan. 2, 2021 Ipsos.com, Reuters/Ipsos poll results, released Nov. 18, 2020 Email interview, Chris Jackson, an Ipsos pollster, Jan. 6, 2021 NPR, Poll: Just A Quarter Of Republicans Accept Election Outcome, Dec. 9, 2020 Politico, Poll: 70 percent of Republicans don’t think the election was free and fair, Nov. 9, 2020 The Washington Post, Many Republicans believe the election was fixed. But that’s what losing partisans often think., Dec. 4, 2020 Monmouth University, More Americans Happy About Trump Loss Than Biden Win, Nov. 18, 2029 Pew Research Center, Sharp Divisions on Vote Counts, as Biden Gets High Marks for His Post-Election Conduct, Nov. 20, 2020 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Miriam Valverde ![](\\" ![](\\" Pramila Jayapal stated on August 30, 2021 in an Instagram post: “The average hospital stay for a case of COVID-19 costs about $17,064. The vaccine is free.” ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Miriam Valverde • September 2, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Mitt Romney stated on August 29, 2021 in a CNN interview: The Trump administration worked to free 5,000 Taliban prisoners. ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Miriam Valverde • August 31, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Joe Biden stated on August 20, 2021 in a press conference: There has been “no question of our credibility from our allies around the world” regarding how the U.S. is withdrawing from Afghanistan. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Miriam Valverde • August 26, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 16, 2021 in a Facebook post: COVID-19 vaccinations are “a violation of the Nuremberg code.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Miriam Valverde • August 20, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ron DeSantis stated on August 4, 2021 in a press conference: Says Joe Biden has driven the current coronavirus surge because he “imported more virus from around the world by having a wide open southern border.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • August 6, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ron DeSantis stated on June 16, 2021 in a press conference: “That meth … it’s almost all coming across the southern border and it’s been accelerating for the last six months.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Miriam Valverde • June 21, 2021 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on June 4, 2021 in an Instagram post: \"920 women lose their unborn babies after getting vaccinated.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Miriam Valverde • June 8, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on May 26, 2021 in a Facebook post: Police defunding is to blame for “skyrocketing murder rates” in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Portland, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Miriam Valverde • May 28, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on May 25, 2021 in a Facebook post: “Biden agrees to Pelosi\'s request to resign.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Miriam Valverde • May 26, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on May 17, 2021 in social media posts: “Gas prices highest in a decade. Worst jobs report in 2 decades. Highest inflation in 3 decades. Highest increase in illegal immigration in 4 decades.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • May 26, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kevin McCarthy stated on May 12, 2021 in a statement to reporters: \"I don\'t think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Miriam Valverde • May 14, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on May 4, 2021 in a speech: “The global cost of corruption is as much as 5% of the world\'s GDP.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Miriam Valverde • May 7, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ron DeSantis stated on April 19, 2021 in a speech: “If you look at some of these places that (reduced police funding), they’ve already seen crime go up.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Miriam Valverde • May 4, 2021 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on April 22, 2021 in an Instagram post: \"Mountains of data\" show drug ivermectin \"basically obliterates\" COVID-19 transmission. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Miriam Valverde • April 23, 2021 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on April 7, 2021 in a Facebook post: Says the nation is locked down and there’s “a wide open border.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Miriam Valverde • April 15, 2021 ### Ted Cruz’s misleading statement on people who believe the election was ‘rigged’ * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: A video shows a body that Israel embedded with a bomb exploding during a Palestinian funeral procession. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in a post: “ESPN has fired Shannon Sharpe.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Gideon Hess • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a post on Threads: An image shows Travis Kelce responding to Elon Musk X post that followed Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: Former President Donald Trump admitted during the Sept. 10 presidential debate that he “blew up the Nord Stream pipeline.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 10, 2024 in a Facebook post: Patron, Don Julio and Pink Whitney tequila recalled because they contained fecal matter. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 11, 2024 in a TV ad: Mike Rogers supported “laws that could eliminate IVF and birth control.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post: \"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a Facebook post: ABC News fired presidential debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Yes on 4 stated on September 10, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s six-week abortion law has “no real exceptions. 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39 of Americans 31 of independents 17 of Democrats believe the election was rigged