MILWAUKEE —A Marquette University Law School poll of adults nationwide finds approval of the U.S. Supreme Court fell to 49% in September, down from 60% in July. Disapproval rose to 50% in September, up from 39% in July. A year ago, in September 2020, 66% approved and 33% disapproved of the way the Court was handling its job.

Approval declined among independents and Democrats while remaining stable among Republicans. Tables 1-3 show approval by party over the three Marquette Law School surveys since September 2020.

All results in the tables below are stated as percentages; the precise wording of the questions can be found in the online link noted above.

Table 1: Approval of the Supreme Court, by party, Sept. 2021

Party ID	Approve	Disapprove		Refused	n
Republican	61	38		1	361
Independent	51	48		1	534
Democrat	37	62		1	412

Table 2: Approval of the Supreme Court, by party, July 2021

Party ID	Approve	Disapprove	Refused	n
Republican	57	42	1	268
Independent	61	37	1	426
Democrat	59	40	1	316

Table 3: Approval of the Supreme Court, by party, Sept. 2020

Party ID	Approve	Disapprove	Skipped on web	n
Republican	80	19	2	447
Independent	64	34	2	523
Democrat	57	43	0	548

While approval of the Court has declined, it remains the branch of the federal government with the most positive responses when people were asked which branch they trust the most.

Table 4: Trust in branches, over time

Survey	The Congress	The Presidency	The Supreme Court
9/3-13/19	21	21	57
9/8-15/20	16	24	59
7/16-26/21	13	28	58
9/7-16/21	16	25	58

In these four surveys, members of the president’s party have ranked the presidency as most trusted, while opposition partisans and independents consistently rank the Supreme Court as most trusted. Tables 5 and 6 show trust, by party, in September 2020 during President Trump’s tenure and in September 2021 during President Biden’s, with sharp swings in public trust between the presidency and the Court as party control changes.

Table 5: Trust in branches, by party, September 2020

Party ID	The Congress	The Presidency	The Supreme Court
Republican	5	56	39
Independent	14	18	67
Democrat	27	3	68

Table 6: Trust in branches, by party, September 2021

Party ID	The Congress	The Presidency	The Supreme Court
Republican	12	4	83
Independent	15	20	64
Democrat	22	51	27

Abortion cases

The Court has accepted for argument Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case challenging Mississippi legislation that limits abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, prior to fetal viability. Views on abortion rights are sensitive to the nature of particular restrictions, as polling has consistently shown.

Support for overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a right to abortion, remains a minority view, with 20% favoring overturning Roe and 50% opposed to such a ruling. While arguments over Roe have been intense for decades, 29% say they haven’t heard anything or haven’t heard enough about this issue to have an opinion.

When asked specifically about banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, as in the Mississippi legislation, 40% favor upholding the law while 34% favor the law’s being declared unconstitutional. A substantial 27% say they haven’t heard of or heard enough about this to have an opinion.

Limits on abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, once a heart beat can be detected, as in a recent Texas law, have less support, with 30% in favor and 46% opposed to this restriction and 23% saying they haven’t heard enough about this.

Table 7 shows views on these three issues.

Table 7: Views on abortion limits

Case	Heard nothing at all	Heard of but not enough for an opinion	Favor	Oppose
Overturn Roe	11	18	20	50
Uphold 15-week limit (Dobbs)	11	16	40	34
Uphold 6-week limit (Texas)	9	14	30	46

Gun rights

The Court has set oral argument in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen for Nov. 3, 2021. This case considers whether a New York denial of an application for a concealed-carry license for self-defense violates the Second Amendment.

This survey asked if the respondent would favor or oppose a decision “that the Second Amendment right to ‘keep and bear arms’ protects the right to carry a gun outside the home.” Forty-four percent say they favor such a ruling, while 26% are opposed and 29% say they haven’t heard enough to form an opinion.

Those with a gun in the household are very supportive of a right to carry a gun outside the home, with a large majority of such respondents favoring this, as shown in Table 8. Those without a gun in the household are about evenly split. Gun owners are also more likely to have an opinion on the issue than are those without a gun in their home.

Table 8: Favor or oppose right to carry a gun, by gun in the household, Sept. 2021

Gun household	Heard nothing at all	Heard of but not enough for an opinion	Favor	Oppose
Gun household	9	12	60	18
Not gun household	13	22	33	32

State regulation of elections

With a number of state legislatures passing changes in voting laws since the 2020 election, the question of how much latitude states have to control the conduct of elections has become a substantially controverted question, as in the decision in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee handed down July 1. In the immediately previous Marquette Law School Poll of national public opinion on the Supreme Court (conducted in July 2021), 23% favored that ruling, which upheld an Arizona law, 23% opposed the ruling and 53% hadn’t heard enough to give an opinion.

In the September survey, respondents were asked if they would favor or oppose a ruling that “states have wide authority to regulate elections and voting requirements.” Twenty-six percent say that they favor such a ruling, while 34% are opposed and 39% haven’t heard enough about the issue.

Party differences are apparent, with a plurality of Republicans in favor and a majority of Democrats opposed to ruling for state authority. Substantial percentages of each party group say they haven’t heard of the issue or haven’t heard enough to have an opinion. Table 9 shows the responses by party.

Table 9: Favor or oppose wide state authority to regulate elections, Sept. 2021

Party ID	Heard nothing at all	Heard of but not enough for an opinion	Favor	Oppose
Republican	18	22	43	16
Independent	18	26	25	31
Democrat	14	18	13	54

Public funding for students attending religious schools

The Court has accepted for argument a case concerning whether a state can deny financial support to students attending private schools that provide religious instruction when it makes that aid generally available to students attending other private schools. This is the latest in a series of cases that have addressed the issue of limitations on support for students attending religious schools. (The current case is Carson v. Makin.)

Respondents favor a ruling holding unconstitutional this limitation on aid, with 34% in favor of such a ruling, 15% opposed to it, and 50% saying they haven’t heard enough.

Affirmative action in college admissions

A majority of respondents, 53%, say the Court should rule that colleges cannot use race as one of the factors considered in admissions decisions, while 13% favor permitting this use of affirmative action, and 33% say they don’t know enough about this.

Regulation of social media

A ruling in favor of laws to prevent social media companies from banning public officials from their platforms is favored by 39%, while 26% are opposed to such a ruling and 34% say they don’t know enough about this issue to offer an opinion.

Perceptions of trends in Court rulings

While few citizens outside the legal profession read Supreme Court decisions, the public does develop an impression of the direction the Court takes over time. Across several topics, Table 10 shows how the public thinks the Court has expanded or reduced the rights of individuals in various groups over the “past 15 years or so.”

Table 10: Perception of the expansion or reduction of rights for various groups

Rights of…	Expanded rights	Reduced rights	Net expanded	Has not changed much either way
LGBT people	77	8	69	15
Campaign donors	39	15	24	46
Minority voters	38	23	15	39
Religious people & organizations	33	21	12	45
Gun owners	27	27	0	45
Abortion seekers	23	45	-22	32

Perceptions of the basis of decisions

A majority of the public, 61%, say the justices decide cases based “mainly on the law,” while 39% say decisions are based “mainly on politics.” The percentage saying “mostly the law” rose in July compared to 2019 and 2020 data, but returned to the earlier levels in the current September survey, as shown in Table 11.

Table 11: Are justices’ decisions based mainly on the law or mainly on politics, over time

Survey	Mainly politics	Mainly the law
9/3-13/19	35	64
9/8-15/20	37	62
7/16-26/21	29	71
9/7-16/21	39	61

Partisan differences are modest in perceptions of the basis of decisions, with majorities of all groups saying decisions are mostly based on the law, as shown in Table 12. There also has been relatively little change, over time, in perceptions among partisans, as shown in Table 13, although the share of Democrats saying decisions are mostly political has increased steadily, by a total of about 8 percentage points, since 2019, while independents and Republicans show variation but no clear trend.

Table 12: Are justices’ decisions based mainly on the law or mainly on politics, by party identification, Sept. 2021

Party ID	Mainly politics	Mainly the law
Republican	34	66
Independent	39	61
Democrat	43	57

Table 13: Are justices’ decisions based mainly on the law or mainly on politics, by party identification, over time

Party ID	Survey	Mainly politics	Mainly the law
Republican	9/3-13/19	33	67
Republican	9/8-15/20	39	60
Republican	7/16-26/21	24	76
Republican	9/7-16/21	34	66
Independent	9/3-13/19	38	61
Independent	9/8-15/20	35	65
Independent	7/16-26/21	25	75
Independent	9/7-16/21	39	61
Democrat	9/3-13/19	35	65
Democrat	9/8-15/20	39	61
Democrat	7/16-26/21	40	60
Democrat	9/7-16/21	43	57

Preferences for basis of decisions

A plurality of respondents, 47%, say the justices should “interpret the law as it applies to current circumstances,” while 32% say they should “read the text of the law as written” and 20% think justices should “use the commonly understood meaning at the time the law was written.”

There are substantial partisan differences over how the law should be interpreted. Two-thirds of Democrats say it should be interpreted as it applies to current circumstances while half of Republicans prefer the text’s being read as written. About one in five of each partisan group prefers the “original understanding” interpretation. These results are shown in Table 14.

Table 14: Preference for decisions based on text, original meaning, or current circumstances, by party identification, Sept. 2021

Party ID	Read the text of the law as written	Use the commonly understood meaning at the time the law was written	Interpret the law as it applies to current circumstances
Republican	51	21	27
Independent	33	22	45
Democrat	14	18	68

A large majority, 84%, say the justices should ignore the positions of political parties in reaching decisions, with 16% saying they should consider party positions.

There are small differences by party identification on this item as shown in Table 15.

Table 15: Should justices consider party positions when reaching decisions, by party identification

Party ID	Should support party positions	Should ignore party positions
Republican	8	92
Independent	19	81
Democrat	18	82

There is somewhat more support, 41%, for the justices to consider public opinion in making decisions (than there is for supporting party positions), although a majority, 59%, think the justices should “ignore public opinion” in deciding cases. Here there is a larger partisan gap, with a majority of Democrats thinking public opinion should play a role. Larger majorities of Republicans and independents say public opinion should not play a role. Table 16 shows these results.

Table 16: Should justices consider public opinion, by party identification

Party ID	Should consider public opinion	Should ignore public opinion
Republican	25	74
Independent	42	58
Democrat	54	46

The role of stare decisis, the principle of following precedent in decisions, has been a topic of debate in confirmation hearings. This is often stressed in debates as a reason to continue to uphold the Roe v Wade decision, while more recently Justice Clarence Thomas, among others, has argued that cases wrongly decided should be overturned, with less of a role for stare decisis.

A minority of the public, 26%, say the Court should “follow previous decisions whenever possible,” while a majority, 74%, say that a precedent should be overturned if a majority of the justices “think it was wrongly decided.”

Here the partisan lines are not sharply drawn, despite the arguments in public debates of the value of following precedent. More than two-thirds of each partisan group say the Court should overturn precedents if wrongly decided, as shown in Table 17.

Table 17: Should justices follow precedent or overturn if wrongly decided, by party identification

Party ID	Follow previous decisions	Overturn if a majority think it was wrongly decided
Republican	20	79
Independent	25	75
Democrat	32	68

Court reforms

Opinion on expanding the size of the Court is now evenly split, a small increase in support for this since 2019, shown in Table 18.

Table 18: Favor or oppose Court expansion

Survey	Favor	Oppose	Skipped/Ref
9/3-13/19	42	56	2
9/8-15/20	46	53	1
7/16-26/21	48	51	0
9/7-16/21	48	51	0

Party divisions on Court expansion have grown over the past two years, with three-quarters of Republicans now opposed and almost three-quarters of Democrats now in favor. Independents are evenly split, a tightening of the gap over the last 12 months. These trends are shown in Table 19.

Table 19: Favor or oppose Court expansion, by party identification, 2019-2021

Party ID	Survey	Favor	Oppose
Republican	9/3-13/19	31	68
Republican	9/8-15/20	33	65
Republican	7/16-26/21	26	74
Republican	9/7-16/21	23	77
Independent	9/3-13/19	44	54
Independent	9/8-15/20	41	58
Independent	7/16-26/21	44	56
Independent	9/7-16/21	48	51
Democrat	9/3-13/19	49	49
Democrat	9/8-15/20	60	39
Democrat	7/16-26/21	73	26
Democrat	9/7-16/21	71	29

Large majorities of the public favor fixed terms for Supreme Court justices instead of the current life-tenure terms. There has been little change in this over the past two years, as shown in Table 20.

Table 20: Favor or oppose fixed terms for justices, 2019-2021

Survey	Favor	Oppose	Skipped/Ref
9/3-13/19	71	28	1
9/8-15/20	75	24	1
9/7-16/21	72	27	0

Majorities of each partisan group support such term limits, with Democratic support growing by some 10 percentage points since 2019 while Republican support has fluctuated and independent support has remained stable. These trends are shown in Table 21.

Table 21: Favor or oppose fixed term for justices, by party identification, 2019-2021

Party ID	Survey	Favor	Oppose
Republican	9/3-13/19	69	31
Republican	9/8-15/20	74	25
Republican	9/7-16/21	60	40
Independent	9/3-13/19	70	29
Independent	9/8-15/20	73	26
Independent	9/7-16/21	70	30
Democrat	9/3-13/19	75	24
Democrat	9/8-15/20	77	22
Democrat	9/7-16/21	86	13

A majority of the public opposes limiting the ability of the Court to “review and set aside acts of Congress as unconstitutional” (summarized in this release as “judicial review”). There has been little change in these views since 2019, as shown in Table 22.

Table 22: Favor or oppose limiting judicial review

Survey	Favor	Oppose	Skipped/Ref
9/3-13/19	37	61	2
9/8-15/20	41	58	2
9/7-16/21	40	60	0

Party views of judicial review have shifted modestly in the last two years. Table 23 shows Democrats becoming a bit more willing thus to limit the Court and Republicans a bit more opposed to such a constraint on the Court.

Table 23: Favor or oppose limiting judicial review, by party identification, 2019-2021

Party ID	Survey	Favor	Oppose
Republican	9/3-13/19	43	54
Republican	9/8-15/20	43	56
Republican	9/7-16/21	37	63
Independent	9/3-13/19	34	64
Independent	9/8-15/20	38	61
Independent	9/7-16/21	38	62
Democrat	9/3-13/19	37	62
Democrat	9/8-15/20	42	57
Democrat	9/7-16/21	46	54

About the Marquette Law School Poll

The survey was conducted Sept. 7-16, 2021, interviewing 1,411 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.4 percentage points. Interviews were conducted using the SSRS Opinion Panel, a national probability sample with interviews conducted online. The detailed methodology statement, survey instrument, topline results, and crosstabs for this release are available on the Marquette Law Poll website. Some items from this survey, on other topics, are held for release one day from now.

Wording of questions about possible future Supreme Court decisions: These items do not attempt to exactly frame the particular issues in specific cases but rather address the topic in more general terms.

Do you favor or oppose the following possible future Supreme Court decisions, or haven’t you heard enough about this to have an opinion? …

• Overturn Roe versus Wade, thus strike down the 1973 decision that made abortion legal in all 50 states.
• Rule that the 2nd Amendment right to “keep and bear arms” protects the right to carry a gun outside the home.
• Rule that a state program that provides financial support for students attending private schools cannot exclude students attending private religious schools from receiving that support.
• Rule that colleges cannot use race as one of several factors in deciding which applicants to admit.
• Rule in favor of laws that restrict the ability of social media companies such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube to exclude public officials from their platforms.
• Rule that states have wide authority to regulate elections and voting requirements.
• Rule to uphold a state law that (except in cases of medical emergencies or fetal abnormalities) bans abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.
• Rule to uphold a state law that bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.

A coding error assigned some respondents to the wrong geographic region in an earlier version of this release. Most percentages reported were unchanged by this correction, with the largest difference being 3 percentage points. No substantive interpretations were affected. This version corrects those errors. Likewise the toplines and crosstab files have been updated.

MILWAUKEE — A new Marquette Law School Poll of Wisconsin registered voters finds 49% approving of the job President Joe Biden is doing as president, 46% disapproving and 4% saying they don’t know.

Forty-six percent approve of how Biden is handling the economy, while 48% disapprove and 5% say they don’t know. On his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, 54% approve, 42% disapprove and 4% say they don’t know.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers job approval stands at 50%, while 43% disapprove. When last measured in October 2020, 50% approved and 43% disapproved.

Approval of Evers’ handing of the coronavirus pandemic is 54%, with 39% disapproving. In October 2020, 52% approved and 45% disapproved.

The poll interviewed 807 registered Wisconsin voters by landline or cell phone from Aug. 3-8, 2021. The margin of error is +/-3.8 percentage points for the full sample. For half-sample items, the margin of error is +/-5.4 percentage points

Sen. Ron Johnson is viewed favorably by 35% and unfavorably by 42% of respondents, while 23% say they don’t have an opinion of him. In October 2020, 38% had a favorable opinion of Johnson, 36% had an unfavorable view and 26% lacked an opinion. The lowest net favorability rating for Johnson came in November 2015, when 27% had a favorable opinion and 38% were unfavorable.

Table 1 shows Johnson’s favorability by party identification in the last two polls. Since October 2020, there has been a slight decline in net favorability among Republicans, with larger declines among independents and Democrats.

Table 1: Ron Johnson favorability rating, by party, Oct. 2020 and Aug. 2021

Poll dates	Party ID	Net	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough	Don’t know	Refused
10/21-25/20	Republican	62	70	8	20	2	0
8/3-8/21	Republican	58	70	12	16	3	0
10/21-25/20	Independent	1	36	35	26	2	1
8/3-8/21	Independent	-10	30	40	26	5	0
10/21-25/20	Democrat	-60	7	67	22	4	0
8/3-8/21	Democrat	-71	6	78	16	1	0

Sen. Tammy Baldwin is viewed favorably by 40% and unfavorably by 38%, while 22% do not have an opinion. In October 2020, she was viewed favorably by 44% and unfavorably by 36%, with 19% not offering an opinion.

Government performance

A majority of respondents, 52%, say things in Wisconsin are on the wrong track, while 39% say things are headed in the right direction. When this was last asked, in late March 2020, 61% said things were headed in the right direction and 30% said they were on the wrong track.

Half of the sample in the survey was asked if government in Wisconsin is working as intended or if it is broken. Thirty-three percent say it is working as intended, and 59% say it is broken. When the other half-sample was asked the same question about government in Washington, D.C., 10% say it is working as intended while 84% say it is broken.

Also in this August survey of registered voters in Wisconsin, half of the sample was asked about the accuracy of the counting of the November 2020 vote across the country, while the other half of the sample was asked about the accuracy of the vote in Wisconsin. For the national wording, 60% say they are very or somewhat confident that the votes across the country were accurately cast and counted in the 2020 election, while 38% say they are not very or not at all confident. In October 2020, prior to the election, 69% were confident or very confident about the accuracy of the election results, while 30% were not very or not at all confident.

For the half-sample asked about the accuracy of the vote count in Wisconsin, 67% say they are very or somewhat confident, while 31% say they are not very or not at all confident. A corresponding question about Wisconsin was not asked in the October 2020 poll.

Tables 2 and 3 show how partisans differ in their views of the accuracy of the election in the nation and in Wisconsin. The Republican distrust in the election is high, with three-quarters not confident in the national election results and two-thirds not confident in the Wisconsin results. Two-thirds of independents are confident in both national and state results. Democrats are virtually unanimous in their confidence that the election results were accurate.

Table 2: Confidence in 2020 election results across the country, by party identification

Party ID	Confident	Not confident	DK/Ref
Republican	21	79	0
Independent	67	29	3
Democrat	94	4	2

Table 3: Confidence in 2020 election results in Wisconsin, by party identification

Party ID	Confident	Not confident	DK/Ref
Republican	29	70	1
Independent	72	26	2
Democrat	97	3	0

Support in this Wisconsin poll for requiring a photo ID to vote is at 74%, with 21% opposing a photo ID requirement. When this question was last asked in October 2014, 60% supported and 36% opposed the requirement.

Respondents also favor automatic voter registration for eligible 18-year-olds, with 62% in favor and 31% opposed. This is the first time this question has been asked.

People were asked to choose between two statements: “the rules around voting make it too difficult for eligible citizens to cast a ballot” and “the rules around voting are not strict enough to prevent illegal votes from being cast.” Forty-three percent say the rules make it too difficult to vote, and 46% say the rules are not strict enough.

Issues and policy preferences

Those polled favor a $500 billion nationwide increase in new spending for infrastructure, with 53% in favor and 37% opposed. The survey was conducted during the debate in Washington, D.C., over the Senate “bipartisan” infrastructure plan.

Crime is seen overall as increasing in the respondent’s community. Forty-five percent say crime is higher than a year ago, 22% say it is lower and 25% say it is the same as a year ago. A much higher percentage of Wisconsinites, 69%, see crime rising nationally, with 9% saying it has declined and 11% saying it has stayed the same.

Just under half of respondents, 49%, say they are very concerned with inflation, with 35% somewhat concerned, 11%  not too concerned and 3% not at all concerned.

Illegal immigration is something 37% are very concerned about. Twenty-four percent said they are somewhat concerned, 21% are not too concerned, and 18% are not at all concerned.

Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour is supported by 51% and opposed by 44%. Such a question was last asked in 2019 without mentioning the amount the minimum wage might be raised. In April 2019, 57% favored an increase and 38% opposed an increase.

About a quarter of voters, 27%, say the federal program currently adding $300 per week to unemployment benefits is still needed, while two-thirds, 67%, say it is keeping people from returning to work.

Schools

In this latest poll, 69% of Wisconsinites say they are very satisfied or satisfied with the job public schools are doing in their community, while 21% say they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. When last asked in January 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic affected schools, 59% said they were very satisfied or satisfied and 33% said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

Public school teachers are viewed favorably by most respondents. Seventy-two percent say they have a favorable view, while 14% have an unfavorable view and 13% do not have an opinion. This question was asked once before, in March 2013, when 76% had a favorable view, 14% had an unfavorable view and 9% did not offer an opinion.

Given a choice between two views in the new poll, 42% say it is more important to hold down property taxes, while 52% say it is more important to increase spending for public schools. This was last asked in February 2020, when 38% said it was more important to hold down property taxes and 56% said increasing spending on public schools was more important.

There is high support for increased spending for special education programs, with 72% saying they favor a major increase, while 19% say they oppose this increased spending. This was last asked in April 2019, when 74% said they favored an increase and 19% opposed more spending.

Among respondents, 45% favor expanding the number of students receiving vouchers to attend private schools, and 45% oppose an increase. This question has not been asked before with this wording.

Recent debates over banning the teaching of critical race theory in public schools have not reached 42% of respondents, who say they don’t know enough to offer an opinion on this. Twenty-six percent favor teaching this in schools, and 30% oppose teaching it.

The coronavirus pandemic disrupted in-person schooling over the past year, and there was  controversy over the pace of reopening. In this poll, 54% say their local schools reopened at about the right pace. Twenty-six percent say the schools in their community reopened too slowly, and 13% say they reopened too quickly.

Coronavirus and vaccines

Looking back to the closing of businesses and schools last year, 62% say this was an appropriate response to the pandemic, while 35% say it was an overreaction that did more harm than good. Initial support for the shutdowns in March 2020 was much higher. At that time, 86% said the shutdown was appropriate and 10% said it was an overreaction. When asked in October 2020, 68% said the shutdown was appropriate and 26% said it was an overreaction.

In this survey of registered voters, 67% say they have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 26% say they have not been vaccinated. An additional 7% either say they don’t know or decline to answer. As of Aug. 8, the final day of interviewing for this poll, the New York Times reported that Centers for Disease Control data show 68% of Wisconsin residents age 18 and over as having received at least one dose.

Of those who have not yet received a vaccination, 49% say they will definitely not get the vaccine, and another 27% say they probably won’t get the vaccine. Meanwhile, 14% say they probably will get vaccinated and another 7% say they will definitely get vaccinated.

There is a partisan divide in vaccinations, shown in Table 4. Republicans are less likely to be vaccinated, with independents and Democrats more likely.

Table 4: Vaccinated status, by party identification

Party ID	Vaccinated	Not vaccinated	DK/Ref
Republican	45	44	11
Independent	71	23	6
Democrat	87	11	2

Among those not yet vaccinated, there is considerable reluctance to be vaccinated, as shown in Table 5. This reluctance is highest among Republicans, although more than half of unvaccinated independents and Democrats also say they will probably or definitely not get the vaccine.

Table 5: Vaccination reluctance among unvaccinated, by party identification

Party ID	Definitely get it	Probably get it	Probably not get it	Definitely not get it	Don’t know	Refused
Republican	3	10	30	54	2	1
Independent	9	19	21	48	2	2
Democrat	20	17	29	34	0	0

Favorability ratings

The Black Lives Matter movement is viewed favorably by 46% of those polled and unfavorably by 40%, with 13% not offering an opinion. In October 2020, 47% rated the BLM movement favorably and 39% rated it unfavorably.

The police are viewed favorably by 80% and unfavorably by 13%, with 7% lacking an opinion. In October, the police were rated favorably by 80% and unfavorably by 12%.

Former President Donald Trump is seen favorably by 38% and unfavorably by 55%, with 7% lacking an opinion. In October 2020, 44% viewed him favorably and 54% viewed him unfavorably.

Long term trends in favorability for Biden, Evers, Johnson and Baldwin

The tables below provide the long-term trends in favorability for Biden, Evers, Johnson and Baldwin.

Table 6 shows Biden’s trend in favorability since 2019.

Table 6: Joe Biden favorability rating, 2019-2021

Poll dates	Net	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough	Don’t know	Refused
8/25-29/19	0	45	45	7	3	0
10/13-17/19	-5	40	45	10	5	0
11/13-17/19	-9	39	48	8	4	1
12/3-8/19	-7	39	46	9	5	1
1/8-12/20	-5	41	46	8	4	1
2/19-23/20	-19	34	53	8	4	1
3/24-29/20	-11	39	50	7	4	0
5/3-7/20	-4	42	46	7	4	1
6/14-18/20	-2	44	46	7	2	1
8/4-9/20	-5	43	48	7	2	1
8/30-9/3/20	-2	45	47	6	1	1
9/30-10/4/20	3	48	45	5	2	0
10/21-25/20	3	49	46	3	2	0
8/3-8/21	3	49	46	3	2	0

Table 7 shows Evers’ trend in favorability.

Table 7: Tony Evers favorability rating, 2019-2021

Poll dates	Net	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough	Don’t know	Refused
1/16-20/19	17	41	24	28	6	0
4/3-7/19	13	48	35	12	5	0
8/25-29/19	14	49	35	11	5	0
10/13-17/19	12	47	35	13	5	0
11/13-17/19	2	43	41	12	3	0
12/3-8/19	8	45	37	12	5	1
1/8-12/20	8	45	37	14	3	1
2/19-23/20	3	43	40	12	4	1
3/24-29/20	26	54	28	11	6	0
5/3-7/20	14	50	36	7	5	1
6/14-18/20	17	54	37	7	2	0
8/4-9/20	17	52	35	9	4	0
8/30-9/3/20	6	47	41	9	2	1
9/30-10/4/20	7	47	40	9	3	1
10/21-25/20	4	47	43	8	2	0
8/3-8/21	4	46	42	8	3	0

Table 8 shows Ron Johnson’s favorability rating since 2013.

Table 8: Ron Johnson favorability rating, 2013-2021

Poll dates	Net	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough	Don’t know	Refused
3/11-13/13	5	30	25	40	4	0
5/6-9/13	8	33	25	37	4	0
10/21-24/13	-4	29	33	35	3	0
1/20-23/14	6	31	25	38	5	0
3/20-23/14	2	29	27	40	4	0
7/17-20/14	0	29	29	40	2	0
8/21-24/14	14	39	25	31	4	1
10/23-26/14	3	33	30	31	5	1
4/7-10/15	3	32	29	34	5	0
8/13-16/15	-1	30	31	35	3	0
9/24-28/15	-9	27	36	33	4	0
11/12-15/15	-11	27	38	33	2	0
1/21-24/16	-7	26	33	37	4	1
2/18-21/16	-4	29	33	35	3	0
3/24-28/16	1	32	31	34	2	0
6/9-12/16	2	33	31	33	2	0
7/7-10/16	-1	34	35	30	2	0
8/4-7/16	2	34	32	31	2	0
8/25-28/16	-1	33	34	30	2	1
9/15-18/16	-2	34	36	28	2	0
10/6-9/16	8	41	33	23	2	0
10/26-31/16	3	41	38	17	4	0
3/13-16/17	5	39	34	23	3	1
6/22-25/17	7	39	32	26	3	0
2/25-3/1/18	10	40	30	25	4	0
6/13-17/18	5	39	34	21	5	0
7/11-15/18	4	40	36	16	7	1
8/15-19/18	10	40	30	25	4	1
9/12-16/18	6	38	32	24	6	0
10/3-7/18	9	41	32	21	5	1
10/24-28/18	9	39	30	24	6	1
1/16-20/19	16	44	28	23	5	0
4/3-7/19	8	40	32	24	5	0
8/25-29/19	11	40	29	25	6	0
10/13-17/19	11	40	29	24	6	0
11/13-17/19	10	39	29	24	7	0
12/3-8/19	2	36	34	26	4	1
1/8-12/20	10	39	29	28	3	0
2/19-23/20	3	37	34	24	5	1
3/24-29/20	3	35	32	29	4	0
5/3-7/20	4	38	34	23	5	1
6/14-18/20	3	35	32	29	3	0
8/4-9/20	-2	33	35	27	4	0
8/30-9/3/20	-4	32	36	28	5	0
9/30-10/4/20	4	35	31	27	7	0
10/21-25/20	2	38	36	23	3	1
8/3-8/21	-7	35	42	20	3	0

Table 9 shows Tammy Baldwin’s favorability rating since 2012.

Table 9: Tammy Baldwin favorability rating, 2012-2021

Poll dates	Net	Favorable	Unfavorable	Haven’t heard enough	Don’t know	Refused
1/19-22/12	2	23	21	50	5	1
2/16-19/12	-6	21	27	49	3	0
3/22-25/12	-6	20	26	46	7	0
5/23-26/12	0	26	26	39	8	0
6/13-16/12	-3	27	30	39	4	0
7/5-8/12	-5	26	31	38	5	0
8/2-5/12	-5	30	35	32	2	1
8/16-19/12	-5	32	37	27	4	0
9/13-16/12	5	36	31	28	5	1
9/27-30/12	-2	37	39	20	3	1
10/11-14/12	-16	31	47	18	4	0
10/25-28/12	-8	36	44	15	4	1
3/11-13/13	4	39	35	22	3	0
5/6-9/13	2	40	38	20	2	0
10/21-24/13	11	47	36	14	3	0
1/20-23/14	1	36	35	27	2	0
3/20-23/14	0	35	35	27	3	0
7/17-20/14	3	35	32	28	4	0
8/21-24/14	7	39	32	23	5	1
10/23-26/14	-1	36	37	23	3	0
4/7-10/15	1	39	38	19	4	0
8/13-16/15	-4	36	40	22	2	0
6/9-12/16	4	37	33	27	4	0
9/15-18/16	6	38	32	27	3	0
10/26-31/16	0	37	37	20	6	0
3/13-16/17	5	40	35	21	3	0
6/22-25/17	0	38	38	21	2	0
2/25-3/1/18	-2	37	39	20	3	0
6/13-17/18	-2	41	43	11	4	1
7/11-15/18	1	41	40	13	5	1
8/15-19/18	3	43	40	14	3	1
9/12-16/18	6	45	39	10	6	0
10/3-7/18	5	45	40	11	3	0
10/24-28/18	5	45	40	11	3	0
1/16-20/19	4	45	41	11	3	0
4/3-7/19	1	44	43	10	3	0
8/25-29/19	4	44	40	13	3	0
10/13-17/19	7	46	39	11	3	0
11/13-17/19	-4	39	43	12	5	1
12/3-8/19	3	42	39	14	3	1
1/8-12/20	4	44	40	13	2	0
2/19-23/20	3	43	40	13	3	1
3/24-29/20	1	40	39	16	4	0
5/3-7/20	8	45	37	14	3	1
6/14-18/20	2	40	38	19	3	0
8/4-9/20	7	43	36	17	3	0
8/30-9/3/20	7	42	35	19	3	1
9/30-10/4/20	6	41	35	20	3	0
10/21-25/20	8	44	36	15	4	0
8/3-8/21	2	40	38	19	3	0

About the Marquette Law School Poll

The Marquette Law School Poll is the most extensive statewide polling project in Wisconsin history. This poll interviewed 807 registered Wisconsin voters by landline or cell phone Aug. 3-8, 2021. The margin of error is +/-3.8 percentage points for the full sample. For half-sample items the margin of error is +/-5.4 percentage points

Items asked of half-samples include the accuracy of the vote count, if government is working or broken, the perception of rising crime, raising minimum wage, need for added unemployment benefits, concerns about inflation and illegal immigration, photo ID for voting, automatic voter registration, if voting laws are too strict or not strict enough and whether critical race theory should be taught in public schools.

The partisan makeup of the sample, including those who lean to a party, is 45% Republican, 44% Democratic, and 9% independent. The partisan makeup of the sample, excluding those who lean to a party, is 30% Republican, 29% Democratic and 40% independent.

Since January 2019, the long-term partisan balance, including those who lean to a party, in the Marquette poll has been 45% Republican and 44% Democratic, with 9% independent. Partisanship excluding those who lean has been 29% Republican and 28% Democratic, with 41% independent.