WASHINGTON— Voters said the economy and immigration were the most important issues facing the country, but the future of democracy was also a leading motivator for many Americans voting in Tuesday’s presidential election.

AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide, revealed a country mired in negativity and desperate for change at a time when Americans face a stark choice between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Republican Trump sought to portray the election as a referendum on the Biden-Harris administration, blaming it on inflation and illegal crossings on the US border with Mexico. Harris, a Democrat, has sought to portray herself as more focused on the future, calling Trump old, tired and a threat to the Constitution.

Nearly 4 in 10 voters think the economy and jobs are the most important issue facing the country as frustration over rising inflation continues in 2022 in the form of higher grocery, housing and gasoline costs. Approximately 2 in 10 voters said the most important issue was immigration, while approximately 1 in 10 voters made this decision abortion.

But when asked what influenced their vote the most, nearly half of voters identified the future of democracy as the single most important factor. This rate was higher than the rate of respondents who responded similarly on issues such as inflation, the situation at the US-Mexico border, abortion policy or freedom of expression.

These issues have also overshadowed the recent assassination attempts against Trump or the legal cases he faces, as well as the possibility of Harris becoming the first female president.

Trump ahead on economy, Harris ahead on abortion

Trump had an advantage over Harris in terms of which candidate could better manage the economy and immigration. On the issue of abortion, Harris was seen as the stronger candidate. During the campaign, Harris talked about women’s access to abortion and medical care as a matter of fundamental freedom, while Trump talked about the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Roe v. in 2022. After Wade overturned his case, he said the issue would be better left to the states.

Trump announces tariffs Harris said tariffs would worsen inflation, while more oil production, as well as sanctions on rivals and allies, would stimulate the economy. He argued that tax breaks for parents and aid for new home buyers and startup founders would be more beneficial.

On the question of who would handle taxes better, AP VoteCast found the two polls relatively even.

Voters see the need for change

What united the country was the sense that the status quo was not working. Nearly 8 in 10 voters want at least a “significant change” in the way the country is governed; This includes nearly a quarter who say they want a full-blown uprising. But what that change will look like is a source of opposition and division.

Harris and Trump have put forward conflicting ideas about what America needs; All of this was reflected in an unprecedented campaign season. Harris has a unique status as a black woman who only emerged as a candidate in July when Biden withdrew from the race over concerns about her age. Trump, 78, by contrast, has faced two assassination attempts and been convicted of multiple felonies related to his business dealings.

While approximately 7 out of 10 voters said that the country was on the wrong track, Trump promised to return to his time in the White House as a solution, while Harris said that her policies were future-oriented.

Voters are not happy with the economy

Nearly 6 in 10 say the economy is not as good or bad as it was four years ago when the economy was buoyed by trillions of dollars in government aid provided during the pandemic. However, as the country emerged from the pandemic, inflation began to climb due to supply shortages and increased consumer demand with additional government aid. As a result, food and energy prices rose after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Nearly two-thirds of voters said they were very concerned about food prices. About half had concerns about health care, housing costs and gas prices.

Almost 6 in 10 voters said their personal finances were stable. But nearly 3 in 10 described themselves as “falling behind”; This is a higher share than in 2020.

Some doubts about Harris and fears about Trump being authoritarian

Still, the experiences of both candidates have raised some sharp questions among voters about whether they should be in the White House.

Harris’ time as Biden’s vice president and her rapid rise to the Democratic nomination has led nearly a quarter of voters to view her as untested; It’s a characterization Trump hasn’t faced this severely since becoming commander in chief from 2017 to 2021.

But Trump also used fiery rhetoric to go after those he perceived as enemies; That threat carried weight with many voters after he refused to acknowledge his 2020 loss as contributing to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Nearly 6 in 10 are very or somewhat concerned that a new Trump era would move the United States closer to an authoritarian country where a single leader has unchecked power. Just under half say the same about Harris.

Boak and Sanders write for the Associated Press. AP reporter Hannah Fingerhut contributed to this report. AP VoteCast is a survey of American voters conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for Fox News, PBS NewsHour, the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press. The survey, in which more than 110,000 voters participated over eight days, concluded with the closing of the polls. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. The survey polls a random sample of registered voters drawn from state voter files; Self-identified registered voters using NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel designed to be representative of the U.S. population; and self-identified registered voters selected from improbable online panels. The margin of sampling error for voters is estimated at plus or minus 0.4 percentage points. You can find more details about AP VoteCast’s methodology at: https://ap.org/votecast.