National support for the Supreme Court is on the rise after months of underwater approval ratings following the court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, according to a poll.
A Marquette University poll found that 47% of adults approve of the job the Supreme Court is currently doing and 53% disapprove, a 3% increase from the university’s November poll that had the approval at 44%.
In June 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson’s Womens Health Organization, overturning the 1973 Roe case that for nearly 50 years had prevented states from placing their own restrictions on abortion. The decision returned the power to the states to ban or restrict abortion, sparking major backlash toward the court from pro-choice activists nationwide.
SCOTUS’ approval rating was on a steady decline for several months after the Dobbs ruling, but the poll reveals a shift in support beginning in November 2022.
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Crowds outside the Supreme Court react to the Dobbs ruling.
(Joshua Comins)
Following the decision, only 38% of individuals in July 2022 said they approved of the job SCOTUS was doing. The results reflected a 22-point decrease in support, according to a Marquette poll from the year prior.
Despite maintaining a low approval for several months, SCOTUS received a boost of 44% national approval in a November poll.
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Among Republicans, 67% approve of the job SCOTUS is currently doing, while only 35% of Democrats and 42% of independents support their decisions.
The boost comes after the Supreme Court ruled to maintain Title 42 when the Biden administration attempted to abruptly end the Trump-era policy that allows immigration officials to quickly expel migrants from the U.S.
Activists hold up a sign near the Supreme Court during a protest in June.
(Lisa Bennatan)
A majority of those polled, 59%, said SCOTUS is very or somewhat conservative, while only 10% said the court was liberal-leaning and 30% viewed the justices as moderate.
The court is currently hearing several cases, including one that could rule against race-based college admissions in schools. The poll found that among those who heard about the case, 68% support a ruling against race-based admissions while 32% oppose the idea.
The majority of Republican respondents, 86%, do not approve of colleges admitting students based on their race.
According to the poll, 56% of Democratic respondents who heard of the case oppose a SCOTUS ruling to ban race-based college admissions. The results reveal a 20-point increase in opposition from members of the Democratic Party when compared to a November poll that found 31% of Democrats believed that schools should factor in an applicant’s race when making admission decisions. The November poll was conducted from Nov. 15-22 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
The Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.
(Celal Gunes)
Another pending case is 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, which centers on whether a business owner’s constitutional rights to religion and free speech would justify refusing services to LGBTQ customers. About 57% of individuals who heard of the case oppose the idea of allowing business owner’s to deny service to LGBT individuals if it contradicts with their religious beliefs, a decrease from 61% who did not agree in the November poll.
The poll was conducted from Jan. 9 to 20, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points
