Democracy was a motivating factor for both Harris and Trump voters, but for very different reasons

Inflation and immigration emerged as the dominant themes in this year’s presidential race. But democracy was also prominent in the minds of voters. Half of voters identified democracy as the single most important motivating factor for their vote. AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide, found that was higher than the share who answered the same way about inflation, the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, abortion policy or free speech. Supporters of Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump saw the issue from different perspectives. They differed over why they’re worried about democracy and who's responsible for the threat.