Voters Support Eliminating The Filibuster
VOTERS DON’T WANT A RELIC OF THE JIM CROW ERA TO STAND IN THE WAY OF A NEW VOTING RIGHTS BILL.
By Ethan Winter
While eulogizing the late Congressman John Lewis, former President Barack Obama called for the elimination of the filibuster to pass a new voting rights bill. He said, “If all this takes eliminating the filibuster, another Jim Crow relic, in order to secure the God-given rights of every American, then that’s what we should do,” The filibuster is a rule that lets a minority of Senators block the voting on legislation unless 60 or more Senators vote to end debate.
In a survey fielded at the end of July, Data for Progress asked voters if they would support or oppose eliminating the filibuster.
First, we asked voters if they would support eliminating the filibuster rule to allow for a new voting rights bill to be passed. We find that voters support this by a 28-percentage-point margin (53 percent support, 25 percent oppose). We find that among voters who self-identify as Democrats support this proposal by a 36-point margin (59 percent support, 23 percent oppose). Voters who self-identify as Republicans, meanwhile, support this by a 27-point margin (56 percent support, 29 percent oppose).
We then reasked this question to voters about this same proposal, this time providing voters arguments for and against eliminating the filibuster that include a reference to Obama’s recent speech. We find that when voters are provided these arguments, net support remains steady. Among all voters, voters support this proposal by 27-point margin. In addition, we find that support remains bipartisan, even when a reference to Obama is included. Net support among Democrats sits at 46-points (65 percent support, 19 percent oppose). Republicans support ending the filibuster by a 16-point margin (51 percent support, 36 percent oppose).
Both Democratic and Republican voters don’t want to let Senate procedure stand in the way of protecting a new voting rights bill.
In addition, we asked voters if they think the rules of the Senate should be changed to allow for a majority to be sufficient to bring legislation to a vote and pass it or if they think that filibuster rule should be left in place. Before voters were asked about the filibuster, they were provided the following description: “The U.S. Senate's filibuster rule lets a minority of Senators prevent voting on a bill unless 60 out of 100 Senators vote to end the filibuster.”
We find when asked this way, eliminating the filibuster enjoys plurality (43 percent) support. Democrats are receptive to the idea, with a majority (54 percent) backing doing away with the rule. Republicans, however, support keeping the rule in place, with 45 percent reporting the filibuster should remain as is and 32 percent saying the rule should be changed.
Ethan Winter (@EthanBWinter) is an analyst at Data for Progress. You can email him at ethan@dataforprogress.org.
Methodology
From July 31 to August 1, 2020, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,098 likely voters nationally using web-panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.
Question wording
Would you support or oppose eliminating the filibuster, a rule that lets a minority of Senators prevent voting on a bill unless 60 out of 100 Senators vote to end the filibuster, to allow a new bill to protect American's right to vote with just 51 votes?
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Don’t know
Some lawmakers in Congress are proposing eliminating the filibuster, a rule lets a minority of Senators prevent voting on a bill unless 60 out of 100 Senators vote to end the filibuster, to allow a new bill to protect American's right to vote with just 51 votes. Supporters of this proposal include Former President Obama who called for ending the filibuster and described it as a "relic of Jim Crow." American's right to vote is under threat and especially with coronavirus pandemic potentially disrupting how elections are carried out, the time to act to protect our elections is now. Opponents of this argue that existing rules shouldn't be changed. The filibuster is an old rule that helps build consensus in the United States Senate. When Americans are more divided than ever, rules like this help build compromise. Would you support or oppose eliminating the filibuster to pass a new voting rights bill?
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Don’t know
When thinking about the filibuster, what comes closer to your view?
We should change the rule so that only 51 votes, a simple majority, are needed to pass a bill. In a democracy, the majority should rule. It isn’t right that a small group of Senators can block legislation that a majority of Senators support.
We should keep the rule as is where 60 of 100 votes are needed to end a filibuster. This rule is a tradition and one that helps build consensus in the Senate.
Don’t know