Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions The Best Music of 2025 Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions The Best Music of 2025 About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics How Pennsylvania voters feel about Trump's claims of election fraud President Trump recently said the only way Democrats "can get elected is to cheat, and we're going to stop it." NPR traveled through swing districts in Pennsylvania to see what people think of that. Politics How Pennsylvania voters feel about Trump's claims of election fraud March 10, 20264:11 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered Frank Langfitt How Pennsylvania voters feel about Trump's claims of election fraud Listen · 4:58 4:58 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5737491/nx-s1-9682517" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript President Trump recently said the only way Democrats "can get elected is to cheat, and we're going to stop it." NPR traveled through swing districts in Pennsylvania to see what people think of that. Sponsor Message
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
President Trump accused the Democrats of planning to cheat in elections yesterday, just as he did during last month's State of the Union address.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: They want to cheat. They have cheated, and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat. And we're going to stop it.
SUMMERS: He provided no evidence. With the midterms coming up, what do voters think of the president's allegation and the ways Trump wants to change voting? NPR's Frank Langfitt went to a pair of swing districts in Pennsylvania to find out.
FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE: I drove about 100 miles from Carlisle to Harrisburg and then to Bethlehem. The cities are part of Pennsylvania's 10th and 7th Congressional Districts, key targets Democrats hope to flip in November. I asked 20 people if they agreed with the president that Democrats can only win if they cheat.
MARC ANDERSON: I would not - that's a bold statement.
HARRISON SMETANA: I don't think it's true.
NOREEN HIRSCH: I don't think it's possible to cheat.
LANGFITT: Why not?
HIRSCH: I just trust in the government.
RICHARD CLINE: I don't think that's how elections are won today.
LANGFITT: That was Marc Anderson, a state representative, Harrison Smetana, a college sophomore, Noreen Hirsch, a retiree, and Richard Cline, a preacher. All are Republicans. When I pressed Cline on the president's claim, he sighed.
CLINE: Well, there's a lot of things he says I wish he wouldn't say, you know (laughter)? I'm going to just say that he's a very complicated person.
LANGFITT: After Trump lost the 2020 election, an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found that more than 70% of Republicans did not trust that the results were accurate. But after Trump won in 2024, nearly 9 in 10 Republicans said the election was well run. Marist University pollster Lee Miringoff says today there is bipartisan confidence in the system.
LEE MIRINGOFF: If you ask people whether they think ballots will be counted accurately, Democrats and Republicans saying pretty much the same - it's about 2 out of every 3 say, yeah.
LANGFITT: Another recent survey shows most Republicans no longer rely just on Trump's word on whether to trust elections. Thad Kousser is a political scientist at the University of California at San Diego.
THAD KOUSSER: Donald Trump is still, for Republicans, the person who the largest number of them turn to. But it's still only 30%. That means 70% of Republicans are turning to other sources, getting their information from local election officials, state election officials.
LANGFITT: Noreen Hirsch is one of those people. We met at a farmers market outside Harrisburg. Hirsch said her daughter-in-law used to believe Trump's election claims.
HIRSCH: She felt that 2020 was stolen, but when she went to work for the York County elections, she said there's no way they can cheat. I trust that we're doing the right thing, but I think we should have voter ID.
LANGFITT: Republicans do support the president wanting to require voters to provide ID.
(SOUNDBITE OF BOWLING PINS CLATTERING)
LANGFITT: Valerie Schock is gearing up to bowl at an alley outside Carlisle.
VALERIE SCHOCK: I am a poll worker, OK? I have seen that the cheating really is a real thing.
LANGFITT: Schock says she's seen voters who could neither speak nor write English. She suspects they weren't citizens but acknowledges she can't prove it. President Trump wants to require proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, to register to vote. It's called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or the SAVE Act. Schock says it's a no-brainer.
SCHOCK: Everybody who wants the SAVE Act wants legitimate voting. Anybody against the SAVE Act wants the option of cheating.
LANGFITT: A series of studies has found that people who aren't U.S. citizens almost never vote. And critics worry the SAVE Act would disenfranchise many millions of Americans who don't have easy access to such documents. Schock doesn't agree with everything the president has proposed on elections.
One thing the president's talked about also is nationalizing the vote, having Republicans take over 15 different places and managing the vote. What do you think about that?
SCHOCK: That's that's not constitutional. The fact is the Constitution does say that each state makes up its own rules.
LANGFITT: Even if the president does allege fraud in November, it may not resonate with Republicans the way it once did.
SMETANA: I am Harrison Smetana. I am the president of the Lehigh College Republicans.
(SOUNDBITE OF MILK STEAMING)
LANGFITT: I met Smetana at a coffee shop just off campus in Bethlehem. He's 19. Smetana isn't worried about fraud in the midterms, and he and his fellow Republicans don't think about Trump's 2020 fraud claims, which are baseless.
SMETANA: We never really talked about anything like that 'cause it seems like it's something that was - I mean, it's - what? - six years ago now. It's - that seems sort of fallen out of the public view for the most part.
LANGFITT: Smetana says all the allegations about 2020 don't feel very relevant these days. And he adds, no one really cares. Frank Langfitt, NPR News, Bethlehem. Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor MessageBecome an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1167:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(323)},323:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(84)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1140),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1141),c(143),c(1142),c(238),c(48),c(1143)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1167,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();