Two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of presidential immunity, the latest Fox News national survey finds voters disapprove not only of that decision, but also think the court is too conservative, and that partisanship plays a role in decisions.
In addition, a new low 38% approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing, down 3 points from April 2023 (41%) and down 20 points from a high of 58% in March 2017.
Sixty percent disapprove of the court’s performance, a high point.
Since 2017, approval of the court is down 48 points among Democrats and down 29 points among independents, while approval has increased 12 points among Republicans.
By a 16-point margin, men are more likely than women to approve of the court, and by a 17-point spread voters ages 65 & over are more likely than those under 30 to approve.
On July 1, in a historic decision, the high court ruled former presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for official actions taken while in office.
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The survey, released Tuesday, finds a 56% majority of voters disapprove of the immunity decision. That includes 8 in 10 Democrats (82%), 7 in 10 independents (68%), and nearly 3 in 10 Republicans (27%).
Overall, 41% approve of the immunity decision.
The survey was conducted after the presidential immunity ruling but before a Florida judge dismissed the federal indictment against former President Donald Trump on charges of mishandling classified documents.
A record high 45% think the Supreme Court is too conservative, up from 34% two years ago and a low of 16% in July 2015 and April 2010.
In July 2015, a high point of 45% felt the court was too liberal compared to just 19% today.
One-third thinks the court strikes the right balance (33%), down from a record 47% in 2017.
About 8 in 10 favor establishing a mandatory retirement age for the justices (81% favor) as well as limiting them to an 18-year term (78%). Both numbers are up by double-digits since July 2022 (71% and 66% respectively), shortly after the court overturned the landmark case, Roe v. Wade.
Since 2022, support for the proposals is up across demographic groups, most notably Republicans (+17 term limits, +15 mandatory retirement age).
In general, more than 8 in 10 voters think partisanship plays a role at least some of the time when justices are deciding cases (83%). While most partisans agree political views play a role, more Democrats (88%) feel that way than Republicans (78%) or independents (82%).
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ranks near the middle of voter concerns.
Seven in 10 (71%) are extremely or very concerned about the Supreme Court, including 44% who are extremely worried.
That is about on par with illegal immigration (73%), abortion (70%), the Israel-Hamas war (69%), and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (69%), but below voter concerns about threats to personal rights (89%), the economy (88%), health care (85%), threats to fair elections (83%), and higher crime rates and taxes (79% each).
For Democrats, the Supreme Court ranks 5th in concerns, but for Republicans it’s 10th and 8th for independents.
The Supreme Court & 2024
President Biden barely edges Trump as being seen as better to handle Supreme Court nominations (50% Biden vs. 47% Trump).
"The Supreme Court was a winning issue for Trump in 2016 when some traditional conservatives overlooked aspects of his personal behavior that they found distasteful and voted for him because of the promise of conservative justices," says Democratic pollster Chris Anderson who conducts the Fox News Poll with Republican Daron Shaw. "Now that Trump delivered a court that many voters don’t like, it could be a motivating issue for Democrats."
In a race where Trump (49%) and Biden (48%) are locked in a tight 1-point race, Trump receives slightly more backing among those who think he’d better handle nominations (96%) than Biden does among those who think he would (93%).
The survey was completed before Saturday’s shooting at a Trump rally.
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Conducted July 7-10, 2024 under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,210 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (132) and cellphones (787) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (291). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling errors associated with subgroup results is higher. In addition to sampling errors, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.
