When Election Officials Speak, Do Voters Listen? Trust-Building Communications, Information Seeking, and Voter Confidence in the 2022 U.S. Midterm Elections

In recent U.S. election cycles, elite-driven disinformation has fueled public confusion about voting requirements and eroded confidence that votes are counted accurately, with notable partisan gaps. Declining voter confidence threatens civic participation and faith in democratic systems. In response, election officials (EOs) have launched messaging campaigns to establish themselves as trusted sources and inform the public about election integrity safeguards. In this paper, we argue EOs’ trust-building communications increase opportunities for voter exposure to accurate and reliable information about how to participate and how elections are kept safe and secure. In turn, voters will be more likely to listen to their EOs, relying on them for guidance on how to vote and expressing greater confidence in election outcomes. Using a unique dataset of state EO social media communications during the 2022 election cycle and two nationally representative surveys fielded pre- and post-election, we find trust-building campaigns successfully position EOs as key sources of information for voter registration and voting procedures but fall short in bolstering confidence in vote counting. Controlling for positive voter experiences, support for losing candidates (voting for Donald Trump in 2020), and elite-driven disinformation (election deniers running for a state’s Chief Election Official), our findings suggest state EOs face distinct challenges in building voter confidence. Unlike local election officials, with whom voters interact more directly, it is more difficult for state EOs to establish public trust. These findings underscore both the potential and limitations of trust-building strategies in countering disinformation and restoring faith in elections.