If the court overturns protections for affirmative action, that would likely be a decision that Americans would support. When asked specifically whether colleges and universities should consider an applicant’s race along with other factors in order to further student body diversity in higher education — the question at the heart of the Supreme Court cases — most Americans (54%) in recent YouGov polls say no.
Other, more specific polling on Supreme Court precedents also indicates that Americans would like to see the existing affirmative action rulings overturned. …
While more than one-third of Americans (38%) say that it has been necessary in the past for colleges and universities to consider a candidate’s race in order to further student body diversity in higher education, just 26% say that is still necessary today. A majority (54%) of Americans say it is not needed today.
Among the 26% of Americans who say racial considerations are currently needed in order to further student body diversity, just 42% — about 11% of Americans overall — believe they will still be needed in 2028, 25 years after the Grutter v. Bollinger decision. About as many of this group are unsure what will be needed in 2028.
[Affirmative action has outlived its purpose as a remediation of Jim Crow and other less-formal official discrimination. As practiced over the last generation, it has been entirely disconnected from that purpose. — Ed]
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