EXCLUSIVE — A majority of voters support keeping the Senate filibuster intact even as President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders push to do away with the Senate rule to pass election legislation, according to a poll commissioned by the conservative Senate Opportunity Fund 501(c)4 advocacy organization.
The poll conducted by OnMessage, Inc. from Jan. 7 to 9 found that 53% of likely voters support the filibuster and 27% oppose it, while another 20% were unsure or had no opinion.
That represents an increase of support for the filibuster since June 2021, when 47% said they support it, 30% said they oppose, and 23% did not know or had no opinion.
Results are based on responses in an online survey from 800 likely voters, including an oversample of 408 likely voters states with competitive Senate races this year. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%.
When only considering voters in states with competitive Senate races, the filibuster still had majority support: 51% in favor compared to 29% who opposed, with an increase from the June 2021 result of 46% in support and 32% against. The margin of error for that section was plus or minus 4.9%.
The modern legislative filibuster means most bills cannot move to a vote on final passage in the Senate without the support of at least 60 of 100 senators. In today’s evenly divided Senate with 50 Republicans and 50 senators who caucus with Democrats (including independent Sens. Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont), that means a number of Democratic-supported measures that easily pass the Democratic-controlled House are stalled in the Senate.
But after a year of pressure from activist groups and other lawmakers, top Democrats now support eliminating the filibuster to pass election reform legislation they argue is necessary to protect voting rights. Biden fully endorsed the idea for the first time in a Tuesday speech in Georgia, saying that getting rid of the filibuster to pass the For the People Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is the only way to safeguard democracy from “autocracy” and “Jim Crow 2.0.”
Another poll question asked the likely voters whether they agreed more with the line of thought that the filibuster protects the United States from radical partisan ideas or whether it needs to be eliminated so Democrats can transform the country while they are in the majority. Half (50%) said the filibuster protects the U.S., while 31% said the filibuster is a relic.
Measuring the popularity of the filibuster is tricky for pollsters, and past polls suggest the results depend on how the question is asked. A Morning Consult poll conducted last year found registered voters asked specifically about the filibuster were more likely to support it, but those asked about passing legislation with a 60-vote threshold or a simple majority were more likely to support a simple majority.
A Vox/Data for Progress poll conducted in March 2021 found likely voters evenly split (45% to 45%) on whether legislation should be passed with 60 votes or a simple majority. It also found slim majorities of voters open to changing the filibuster rule to pass particular policy priorities, such as voting legislation or the minimum wage.
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Wording for the question on the filibuster in the Senate Opportunity Fund/OnMesage poll was: “The ‘Filibuster’ is a rule in the Senate that requires most legislation to have 60 Votes (60% of the 100 seats currently in the Senate) rather than a bare majority of 51. Supporters of the Filibuster say this rule protects the voice of the minority and encourages compromise which is good for the country. Opponents of the Filibuster say this rule is a racist Jim Crow relic that allows the Republican minority to block popular legislation the country needs. Do you personally support or oppose the Filibuster?”
Read the full polling memo and deck below:
