ECU and Court Accountability release new poll which finds nearly two-thirds of Congressional battleground voters support Supreme Court justices being subject to more oversight and accountability
End Citizens United (ECU) and Court Accountability today released a new poll from Impact Research of House battleground districts which finds that voters strongly support oversight and accountability for the Supreme Court. Additionally, the poll found that battleground district voters are more willing to support a congressional candidate who pushes for oversight of the Supreme Court in the upcoming election than one who will uphold the status quo. ECU and Court Accountability’s battleground poll also aligns with today’s Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll in finding that Americans think Supreme Court justices put ideology over impartiality.
“These findings show that the American people are feeling the impacts of the Supreme Court’s partisan rulings and are demanding oversight and accountability for justices in order to root out corruption,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Voters understand that the system is rigged against them with billionaires buying access and calling the shots—and they’re eager to support candidates who take on corruption and fight for strong ethics and accountability. Extreme, partisan decisions have changed the political landscape and Democrats must now go on offense with the right-wing Supreme Court in the crosshairs.”
“Between a drumbeat of corruption scandals tying Supreme Court justices to billionaires with interests before the Court, and devastating rulings taking away Americans’ fundamental freedoms, it’s no surprise that voters have had enough,” said Court Accountability Executive Director Alex Aronson. “Across the ideological and partisan divide, these results show that broad majorities of voters expect their representatives in Congress to deliver real oversight and reform of the captured Supreme Court. The American people want and deserve accountability, and they are rewarding candidates who show they are fighting for them.”
Key findings from the poll:
- Nearly 80% of voters say that knowing the next President is going to choose Supreme Court justices is an important factor in their vote. This includes 85% of Democrats versus just 76% of Republicans.
- Voters reject the idea that the Court is fair, independent, and impartial. Recent decisions and scandals have affected perceptions of the Court, and battleground voters reject the idea that the Court is impartial by 18 points, independent by 10 points, and fair by 8.
- Nearly two-thirds of voters (63%) support Supreme Court justices being subject to more oversight and accountability. This includes a 31-point margin of support among Independent voters (60% / 29%).
- Voters are willing to reward congressional candidates who pursue oversight. By a 38-point margin, voters would rather support a candidate for congress who will pursue oversight, investigations, and reform to address U.S. Supreme Court corruption.
- Examples that tie gifts and favors from self-interested billionaires with business before the Court to the justices are powerful and raise major concerns. Specifically, the trips Justices Thomas and Alito have taken, the tuition payments for Justice Thomas’s nephew, and funding salaries for family members of justices raise deep concerns to a majority of battleground voters.
- Connecting the influence of these billionaires to the conservative rulings is effective and taps into what voters already know – that the Court has become more conservative in recent years. A majority (56%) of voters believe that the Court has become more conservative over the past five years, while just 28% believe it has stayed the same. Additionally, voters understand that these conservative rulings have a real impact on their lives, but that corruption and justices accepting expensive gifts is more concerning to them. This gives us the opportunity to connect how the corruption on the Court is fueling the conservative rulings and impacting people’s lives.
Read the full polling memo here.
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