Supreme Court Approval Rating Hits New Low, Poll Finds

The Supreme Court’s approval numbers among Americans of all political affiliations has dropped to a new low following a series of high-profile decisions, according to a recent poll.

In a Gallup poll published Thursday, just 40% of respondents said they approve of how the Supreme Court “is handling its job,” compared to a majority of 53% who said they disapprove of the nation’s highest court. The number is the lowest recorded in Gallup’s trend, which dates back to 2000.

The poll surveyed a random sample of 1,005 adults via telephone interviews conducted between Sept. 1-17. The poll had a margin of error of four percentage points.

40% of Americans approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing, a new low in Gallup’s 21-year trend. https://t.co/oNZ0xnXk2p pic.twitter.com/vMbUZbMZG3

— John Gramlich (@johngramlich) September 23, 2021

The latest numbers from Gallup’s annual Governance survey indicate a considerable drop in approval compared to 2020, when 58% of respondents had a positive opinion about the Supreme Court.

Gallup’s polling data points to similar lows in 2005, when the court ruled in favor of eminent domain, and in 2016, when the court ruled in favor of a college’s affirmative action program.

Compared to numbers in Sept. 2020 and in July, all respondents regardless of political affiliation were less likely to say they approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing. Republicans’ and independents’ approval of the court dropped 12 points from last year to 45% and 41% respectively, while Democrats’ approval dropped 13 points from last year to 36%. (RELATED: Clarence Thomas: The Supreme Court Could Be The ‘Most Dangerous’ Branch Of Government)

A plurality of Americans have long viewed the Supreme Court as being “about right” ideologically, with 40% describing the court that way in the latest poll. But a growing number of Americans believe the court has become “too conservative.”

The court currently has a 6-3 conservative majority and all three of former President Donald Trump’s nominees now sit on the bench.

The Supreme Court has issued several high-profile and politically contentious opinions in the last two months alone. The court blocked a Biden administration attempt to extend a federal evictions moratorium and declined to block Indiana University’s vaccine requirement in August. The court allowed a six-week abortion ban in Texas to go into effect earlier in September.

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