Three years after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and halted the certification of the 2020 presidential election, a majority of Americans believe it was an attack on democracy that should never be forgotten, according to a new poll.

However, the survey by The Washington Post and the University of Maryland also reveals stark partisan divides in views about the 2020 election, the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and the events that followed it.

For instance, two-thirds of Republicans polled said they still do not believe Joe Biden was legitimately elected, while 62% say there is solid evidence that there was widespread voter fraud in 2020. 

Overall, 69% of voters — and 91% of Democrats — said they believe Biden was legitimately elected. Sixty-three percent of all voters — and 87% of Democrats — said there is no concrete proof of election fraud.

The Washington Post reported that, in follow-up interviews, several voters who cast doubts on the 2020 election cited a debunked claim that Georgia election workers inserted fake ballots to be counted. Last month, a jury ordered Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani to pay the two women at the center of the conspiracy theory $148 million for defamation. 

Former President Donald Trump and his allies were unsuccessful in more than 60 lawsuits challenging the election results. The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the National Association of State Election Directors described the election as “the most secure in American history.” And then-Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department found no evidence of voter fraud that could have changed the outcome of the election.

Fifty-five percent of voters said the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was an attack on democracy that should never be forgotten, while 43% said too much has been made of it and believe it’s time to move on. Again, members of the two major parties saw it differently, with 86% of Democrats saying the attack should never be forgotten and 72% of Republicans saying it’s time to turn the page.

Half of those polled said the protesters who entered the Capitol were mostly violent, while 21% said they were mostly peaceful. Another 28% said they were equally peaceful and violent. Seventy-seven percent of Democrats viewed the protesters as mostly violent, while only 18% of Republicans agreed.

Meanwhile, 26% of voters said the legal punishments for people who entered the Capitol have been too harsh. Thirty-eight percent said the penalties have not been harsh enough, while 35% said they’ve been fair.

But compared to the same poll two years ago, it appears voters’ opinions about the protesters have softened with time. 

In December 2021, 54% of voters said the protesters were mostly peaceful, and 51% said they believed those charged deserved tougher punishments.

Some voters told The Post their views have changed because they now believe a baseless right-wing conspiracy theory that law enforcement instigated the riot.

The latest poll also found that 53% of voters believe Trump deserves a great deal or a good amount of blame for Jan. 6, while 45% said the former president warrants just some of no blame at all. Eight-six percent of Democrats blamed Trump, while just 14% of Republicans did.

Fifty-six percent of voters said they believe Trump will definitely or probably be found guilty of criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 president election, while a third said he was innocent. Again, there was a wide disparity among parties, with 88% of Democrats predicting a conviction and 68% of Republicans foreseeing an acquittal.

Two states — Colorado and Maine — have found that Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 disqualify him from serving as president again under the 14th Amendment and have removed him from the ballot. Trump is expected to appeal the decisions. 

But less than half of voters (46%) polled said they believe Trump should be ineligible. Another 17% said his actions cast doubts on his fitness for the job but should not disqualify him, while 33% said his actions are not relevant to his fitness for the presidency.