Poll: 59 percent think president elected in November should name next Supreme Court justice

A majority of Americans believe the winner of the presidential election should appoint the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement to the Supreme Court, according to a CNN poll released Wednesday.

Fifty-nine percent of respondents said the president elected in November should make the appointment, compared with 41 percent who said President Trump should appoint a new justice immediately. Fifty-three percent said the Senate should hold hearings on President Trump’s nominee, compared with 47 percent who said it should not, according to the poll.

In March 2016, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, 57 percent of Americans said then-President Obama should appoint his replacement, compared with 40 percent who said the winner of the presidential election should, that year’s poll found. One percent said it depended on the winner of the election, and 2 percent had no opinion.

On the subject of holding hearings in 2016, 66 percent of respondents said the Senate should hold hearings on a nominee, compared with 32 percent who said it should not. One percent said it depended on the nominee and 2 percent had no opinion. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) refused to hold hearings on Obama’s eventual nominee, Merrick Garland.

The survey also found that a plurality of respondents believe President Trump’s other appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, have changed the court for the worse. Thirty-eight percent of respondents said Gorsuch and Kavanaugh have made the court worse, compared with 32 percent who said they have not made much of an impact and 29 percent who said they have changed the court for the better.

A plurality — 44 percent — said they believe the current ideological balance of the court is “about right.” By comparison, 22 percent said it is too liberal, while 34 percent said it is too conservative.

Pollsters surveyed 901 adults from Sept. 21 to Sept. 22. Among the sample, 29 percent identified as Democrats, 26 percent identified as Republicans, and 45 percent described themselves as independents or third-party voters. The poll has a 4 percentage point margin of error.