51 percent want Barrett seated on Supreme Court: poll

A new Gallup poll released Tuesday finds that 51 percent want to see Judge Amy Coney Barrett confirmed to the Supreme Court.

The Gallup poll also found that 46 percent of adults oppose Barrett’s confirmation, while 3 percent do not have an opinion on her filling the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last month. 

The survey was conducted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 15, beginning four days after President Trump officially nominated the conservative appeals court judge and ending on the same day Senate Judiciary Committee hearings concluded. 

Tuesday’s poll about Barret, the twelfth Supreme Court nominee for whom Gallup has measured support among the public since 1987, also found that support for Barrett’s confirmation is higher than either of Trump’s two previous nominees— Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh— had at any point in time prior to their confirmations. 

However, the percentage of those who do not want to see Barrett’s confirmation is higher than it has been in any of the initial public opinion polls for the 11 previous nominees. 

According to Gallup, the percentage of respondents with no opinion on Barrett filling the seat is much lower than for prior nominees, with an average of 25 percent of those surveyed in the past generally having no particular leaning for or against the Supreme Court picks immediately after the president’s nomination. 

The percentage with no opinion on Barrett is also significantly lower than the average 22 percent found in the final measurement before the confirmations of the previous eight justices. 

Gallup cited multiple possible explanations for the polling results, including the fact that the nomination process is occurring amidst a presidential election in which millions of voters have already cast their ballots. Democrats have used this fact to oppose Barrett’s nomination, referencing when Republicans in 2016 refused to hold hearings for President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, roughly eight months before the general election. 

Polling from other organizations has shown that a majority of Americans would rather see a person nominated to the court after the Nov. 3 election, with the winner of the presidency and the new Senate nominating and voting on a Supreme Court pick. 

These findings come as the Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Barrett’s nomination on Thursday, with Republicans planning on holding a final Senate vote on Monday, Oct. 26, roughly a week before elections.

On Monday, Republicans struck down an effort led by Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to adjourn the Senate until after the election, which would have effectively moved Barrett‘s confirmation until after Election Day. 

Only one Republican senator, Susan Collins (Maine), has said she will vote against Barrett because she does not believe a nominee should be brought forth before the presidential election.