Voters are almost perfectly split on whether the Senate should confirm a new Supreme Court justice before or after the midterm elections in November.
According to a new Morning Consult poll conducted June 28-29 and released Tuesday, 39 percent of voters agree Republicans that the Supreme Court confirmation vote should happen before the elections, and 38 percent agree with Democrats that it should happen after.
[Schumer to McConnell: Hold Supreme Court seat vacant until after midterm elections]
Justice Anthony Kennedy announced that he would be retiring from the Supreme Court at the end of July, after serving for 30 years.
Sixty-one percent of voters who participated in the poll said the next justice to follow Kennedy should be chosen because of his or her qualifications, and 24 percent said the pick should be based on their political views.
But participants split wildly on different issues depending on their political affiliation. On abortion, for example, 73 percent of Democrats said they hope the next justice supports abortion rights, while 54 percent of Republicans hope the nominee opposes abortion rights.
[Related: Two-thirds of voters don’t want to see Roe v. Wade overturned: Poll]
Taken together, majorities of those polled want the next justice to protect “Dreamers,” abortion rights, gay marriage, affirmative action and the death penalty.
The poll sampled 1,990 registered voters, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
