New poll results have disproved early assertions that Republican candidate Donald Trump received a record number of LGBTQ+ voter support in the recent US presidential election.  

According to the world’s largest LGBTQ+ media advocacy organisation, GLAAD, the high number of queer people voting for Trump in the election were based on a flawed study. The group’s own poll countered early assertions by showing 14% voted for Trump while 81% voted for president-elect Joe Biden. 

In an early exit poll from the Edison Research for the National Election Pool, 28% of polled LGBTQ+ voters had cast their ballot for Trump in 2020. However, GLAAD’s analysis of these results discovered a small sample size, which widened the margin of error. 

GLAAD’s poll results also highlighted how a significant turnout of LGBTQ+ voters impacted on the overall outcome of the race. In the 2020 elections, 25% of LGBTQ+ people were first-time voters.

President and chief executive officer of GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis, said in a statement, “GLAAD’s poll confirms the impact of the LGBTQ vote as a deciding difference in the 2020 election, especially first-time LGBTQ voters who led a powerful surge of support for the pro-equality ticket.”

The results of this presidential election affirm that every vote and every voter counts. LGBTQ people and all marginalized Americans came together to make this victory possible, and now the journey to safety, equality and acceptance can continue forward.

— Sarah Kate Ellis (@sarahkateellis) November 7, 2020

LGBTQ+ voters were driven by their concerns regarding the response to COVID-19, healthcare, and racial justice, according to GLAAD’s poll. Ellis stated, “These issues reflect the compassion and intelligence of LGBTQ people, and the importance of intersectionality to the LGBTQ community and to America as a whole – that with a diversity of differences in age, race, gender and economic status, we can and will unite as a powerful voting bloc for change – and achieve it.”

During the US election 2020, there was a seismic shift for further inclusion in politics as LGBTQ+ candidates secured groundbreaking victories. President-elect Joe Biden has also begun to assemble his transition team, including trans veteran Shawn Skelly.

On Monday, November 23, the head of General Services Administration Emily Murphy announced the Trump administration will begin the formal transition process and make post-election resources available. On Twitter, Trump stated that he will be “recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.”