A Fox News poll of registered voters found that 46% supported the idea of increasing the quantity of justices seated on the nation’s high court, while 51% opposed this proposal.
The poll, which was carried out Jan. 16-19, found that 19% strongly favored the idea of adding more members to the Supreme Court, while 26% somewhat favored the idea, 19% somewhat opposed the proposal, and 32% strongly opposed it.
The number of seats on the U.S. Supreme Court has been fixed at nine for more than 150 years, but some politicians have been advocating to increase that cap, a policy that critics typically refer to as court packing.
“The number of Justices on the Supreme Court changed six times before settling at the present total of nine in 1869,” according to the Supreme Court website.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus has endorsed legislation that would raise the number of justices from nine to 13.
The Fox News poll also found that 69% of voters supported the idea of a compulsory retirement age for members of the high court. While 38% strongly favored this proposal, 31% somewhat supported it, 17% somewhat opposed it, and 12% strongly opposed it.
The poll also found that nearly a third (31%) of voters thought that the high court should overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion ruling, while 63% thought that the court should allow the decision to stand.