Supreme Court Approval Drops Sharply Following Leaked Draft Opinion Overturning Roe v. Wade

Supreme Court Approval Drops Sharply Following Leaked Draft Opinion Overturning Roe v. Wade

Multiple polls show a majority of Americans have lost faith in the Supreme Court following reports that five Republican-appointed justices have voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. Polling consistently shows Americans want to keep Roe in place, and it is now clear that the Republican-appointed justices voting to roll back abortion rights will result in far more Americans understanding that the Court has become a partisan, untrustworthy institution.

• An NPR/PBS News Hour Marist poll found a 20-point drop in confidence in the court, with 56% of Americans saying they have not very much confidence or no confidence at all in the Court, compared to just 36% of Americans who said the same in February 2018.

• A Yahoo News/YouGov poll found “registered voters have swung from mostly having confidence in the Supreme Court — by a colossal 40-point margin — to being evenly split on the question.” In September 2020, the poll showed just 30% of Americans had little or no confidence in the Court, but in May 2022 that number rose to 50%.

• A Monmouth University poll found Americans more likely to disapprove of the court than approve of it by a 14 point margin (52% disapprove to 38% approve); just two months ago, the poll showed the country evenly divided with 42% approving and 42% disapproving.

• A University of Massachusetts Amherst poll found 54% of Americans disapprove of the job the court is doing, compared to just 43% in April 2021. 

A Morning Consult/Politico poll suggests many Americans are ready to take action to rein in the Court, with +7 support for proposals to expand the number of justices on the Court. 

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