Most Americans think Supreme Court process more politics than substance: poll

A majority of Americans believe the Supreme Court confirmation process is more about politics than the law, underscoring partisan divisions plaguing the nation, according to a new poll released on Friday.

A USA Today-Ipsos poll found that close to 70 percent of Americans believe that the Supreme Court confirmation process has less to do with substance and more to do with politics.

The poll also found that only about 20 percent reported that they tuned in to the confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden’s nominee to the court and the first Black woman to be nominated to the nation’s highest court. Close to 50 percent of Americans said they did not keep up with confirmation coverage at all.

Among those who did watch the live hearings, just over half – 55 percent – believed Jackson was treated fairly. That percentage dipped to roughly 40 percent of Americans in general, which includes those who did not follow the coverage, USA Today reported. 

The development comes as Jackson was confirmed by the Senate in a 53-47 vote to the Supreme Court earlier this month, which at times included sparring between Republican senators like Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) over her handling of child pornography cases.

The USA Today-Ipsos Poll was conducted between April 12 and April 13, surveying 1,005 people. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.