A majority of Americans say the presidential election winner should fill the empty seat on the Supreme Court, according to a new poll.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll released Friday indicates that most Americans are also against increasing the number of Supreme Court justices.
Poll results show:
- 57% of Americans say the next president should choose who fills the Supreme Court vacancy.
- 38% of Americans say Trump should choose the next justice and the Senate should confirm his pick.
- 90% of Democrats say they want the next president to choose the new justice.
- 80% of Republicans say Trump should pick a justice before the election.
- 61% of Independents say the winner of the election should make the nomination.
- 54% of Americans say they are opposed to adding more justices to the high court.
- 32% of Americans say they support expanding the Supreme Court.
President Donald Trump said he will announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Saturday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said there will be enough votes to confirm the president’s nomination. The president, saying the election could be called into question over the extensive use of mail-in ballots, has said the court needs a ninth justice seated as soon as possible in the event a tie-breaking vote is needed in a ruling.
Democrats have called for the next president to make the nomination. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has also said the winner of the election should be the one who selects the next justice.
“Let me be clear, that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider,” Biden said last week.
More Americans, 50%, say they trust Biden over Trump, 42%, with making the nomination.
The ABC News/Washington Post poll surveyed 1,008 adults between Sept. 21-24. The poll has a margin of error of 3.5 percent.