Joe Biden reportedly is considering making a push for major changes to the Supreme Court — changes that recent polling finds are popular among members of both parties. Both of the major reported proposals — an ethical code for Supreme Court justices and a limit on the number of years they can serve — are strongly or somewhat supported by seven in 10 Americans. 61% support both.
Each proposal has bipartisan support. Enforcement of an ethical code is supported by 86% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans. And a cap on the number of years justices can serve is supported by 89% of Democrats and 56% of Republicans. Each of these proposals to reform the court would need congressional approval.
The survey also asked about expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court — a proposal which Joe Biden has opposed, but which presumptive nominee Kamala Harris expressed a willingness to consider during her 2020 primary run. Views on court expansion are politically polarized: Democrats support it by 59% to 20% and Republicans oppose it by 70% to 18%.
Americans who support imposing a cap on the number of years Supreme Court justices can serve are divided on what the maximum should be. The largest shares say it should be between either 5 to 9 years (16%) or 10 to 14 (18%).
Most Democrats believe the Supreme Court is too powerful (73%) while only 14% of Republicans agree; 73% of Republicans think it has about the right amount of power. One thing both parties can agree on: The court does not have too little power.
Biden reportedly is planning to propose a constitutional amendment to limit immunity for presidents and former presidents — following the Supreme Court's ruling that presidents are immune from being prosecuted for official actions. Americans support his proposal by 55% to 25%. Democrats favor it by 76% to 13%. Republicans are divided: 38% support limiting presidential immunity and 38% oppose it.
— Carl Bialik contributed to this article
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: This poll was conducted online on July 17 - 20, 2024 among 1,140 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel using sample matching. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given prior to November 1, 2022, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (33% Democratic, 31% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
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