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from Rasmussen Reports and ADF:
65% Say Most Judges Should Be Elected, Political Class Disagrees
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Even as the political battle over Wisconsin’s recent state Supreme Court election continues, most voters favor the election of judges and think there should be term limits on how long someone can serve on the bench.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 22% of Likely U.S. Voters think most judges should be appointed. Sixty-five percent (65%) disagree and think most judges should be elected. Thirteen percent (13%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
This marks little change from a survey in August.
The Political Class disagrees, however. While 72% of Mainstream voters say most judges should be elected, a plurality (49%) of the Political Class believes they should be appointed.
Sixty-nine percent (69%) of all voters think judges should be term-limited. Only 20% disagree. It’s important to note, however, that the question did not specify how long judicial terms should be.
But voters feel less strongly when asked if there should be an age limit so that people cannot serve as a judge after a certain age. Forty-eight percent (48%) favor an age limit, but 41% are opposed. Again, no specific age was cited in the question.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on April 9-10, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95%level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Also virtually unchanged from August is the view by 37% of voters that the average judge is too liberal. Eighteen percent (18%) think the average judge is too conservative, while 30% say his or her views are about right. Fifteen percent (15%) are undecided.
By comparison, 36% of voters continue to believe the U.S. Supreme Court is too liberal, while 24% say it’s too conservative. Another 31% say the ideological makeup of the high court is about right.
Voters make little distinction between the different levels of the judiciary when asked about overall performance. Twenty-two percent (22%) say local judges do a better job, but 19% think state judges perform better. Eighteen percent (18%) give the nod to federal judges. A sizable 41% are not sure.
Conservatives feel much more strongly than liberals that most judges should be elected. Sixty-four percent (64%) of ideological conservatives think the average judge is too liberal, while a plurality (44%) of liberals thinks he or she is too conservative. Moderates tend to think the average judge’s views in political terms are about right.
Republicans (78%) support the electing of judges more than voters not affiliated with either major party (63%) and Democrats (55%) do.
GOP voters are also more strongly supportive of both term limits and age limits than Democrats and unaffiliateds are.
In June 2009 following President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, 66% of voters nationwide felt that well-qualified male and female judges would reach the same judicial conclusion most of the time. Sixty-seven percent (67%) believed the same is true of well-qualified white and Hispanic judges.
But only 21% of Americans think that rulings by judges in recent years regarding religion in public life have correctly interpreted the U.S. Constitution. Sixty-four percent (64%) of adults believe the judges’ rulings have been more anti-religious than the Founding Fathers intended.
Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.
Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it's free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.
Survey toplines and crosstabs are available to Platinum Members only.
65% Say Most Judges Should Be Elected, Political Class Disagrees
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Even as the political battle over Wisconsin’s recent state Supreme Court election continues, most voters favor the election of judges and think there should be term limits on how long someone can serve on the bench.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 22% of Likely U.S. Voters think most judges should be appointed. Sixty-five percent (65%) disagree and think most judges should be elected. Thirteen percent (13%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
This marks little change from a survey in August.
The Political Class disagrees, however. While 72% of Mainstream voters say most judges should be elected, a plurality (49%) of the Political Class believes they should be appointed.
Sixty-nine percent (69%) of all voters think judges should be term-limited. Only 20% disagree. It’s important to note, however, that the question did not specify how long judicial terms should be.
But voters feel less strongly when asked if there should be an age limit so that people cannot serve as a judge after a certain age. Forty-eight percent (48%) favor an age limit, but 41% are opposed. Again, no specific age was cited in the question.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on April 9-10, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95%level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Also virtually unchanged from August is the view by 37% of voters that the average judge is too liberal. Eighteen percent (18%) think the average judge is too conservative, while 30% say his or her views are about right. Fifteen percent (15%) are undecided.
By comparison, 36% of voters continue to believe the U.S. Supreme Court is too liberal, while 24% say it’s too conservative. Another 31% say the ideological makeup of the high court is about right.
Voters make little distinction between the different levels of the judiciary when asked about overall performance. Twenty-two percent (22%) say local judges do a better job, but 19% think state judges perform better. Eighteen percent (18%) give the nod to federal judges. A sizable 41% are not sure.
Conservatives feel much more strongly than liberals that most judges should be elected. Sixty-four percent (64%) of ideological conservatives think the average judge is too liberal, while a plurality (44%) of liberals thinks he or she is too conservative. Moderates tend to think the average judge’s views in political terms are about right.
Republicans (78%) support the electing of judges more than voters not affiliated with either major party (63%) and Democrats (55%) do.
GOP voters are also more strongly supportive of both term limits and age limits than Democrats and unaffiliateds are.
In June 2009 following President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, 66% of voters nationwide felt that well-qualified male and female judges would reach the same judicial conclusion most of the time. Sixty-seven percent (67%) believed the same is true of well-qualified white and Hispanic judges.
But only 21% of Americans think that rulings by judges in recent years regarding religion in public life have correctly interpreted the U.S. Constitution. Sixty-four percent (64%) of adults believe the judges’ rulings have been more anti-religious than the Founding Fathers intended.
Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.
Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it's free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.
Survey toplines and crosstabs are available to Platinum Members only.
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