Percentages may change throughout the night.
Harris voters are more confident that the election will be fair than Trump voters
Early exit polls show that the state of democracy and the economy are the most important issues for voters in 2024.
The economy is the most important issue for Trump voters, followed by immigration. And democracy is the top concern for Harris voters, followed by abortion — echoing some of the themes we saw during the campaign.
Most on both sides are afraid, not just concerned, if the other side wins, and while most voters express confidence that this election will be fair and accurate, Harris’ voters are more confident than Trump’s voters.
About seven-in-ten voters (majorities on both sides) expect violence to occur over the outcome of the presidential election.
This is the first time in its history – dating back to the 1970s – that the exit poll has asked voters about the prospect of violence as it relates specifically to US presidential elections.
There is dissatisfaction with the state of the country – about seven in ten are dissatisfied or angry with the state of affairs – something that has been the case for a long time. While this would not be a particularly favorable environment for an incumbent party, we saw a similar level of discontent during the 2022 midterm elections, with a competitive race for control of Congress.
Voters’ views of the country’s economy are more negative than in 2020 – despite the country being in the grip of the COVID pandemic at the time. Trump voters overwhelmingly view the current economy as negative, while more Harris voters think it is in good shape.
When asked whether you are better off than you were four years ago, more voters nationally and across all battlegrounds say they are financially worse off than better.
The issue of abortion and gender
This is the first presidential election in post-Roe America and most voters want abortion to be largely legal. We see this nationally and in all theaters of war.
Although current exit polls show that abortion is not a top issue for voters. Among women at the national level, democracy and economics transcend the issue of abortion.
Candidate qualities: what were voters looking for?
The ability to lead was the quality voters most sought after, followed by common sense, someone who can bring needed change and someone who cares.
Most made their decision a long time ago, but some decided late
These early exit polls show that a large majority of voters decided on their candidate long ago – about 8 in 10 before September.
A smaller number of voters decided last week – currently in single digits. More of these voters identify as independent than with either political party. And they tend to be slightly younger than the electorate at large.
They profile themselves in the same way as ‘infrequent voters’ – those who did not vote in 2020. About 1 in 10 voters in this electorate report did not vote in 2020.
CBS News exit polls are surveys of thousands of voters across the country, including in-person interviews with voters on Election Day, interviews with early voters at early voting locations and telephone interviews to gauge the opinions of those who cast their ballots by mail . The studies were conducted by Edison research on behalf of the National Election Pool.
