SCOTUS poll: Where Democrats and Republicans stand on race-based college admissions

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SCOTUS will 'once and for all' decide whether colleges can use race in admissions: Kimberly Hermann

Experts discuss what is at stake in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and what precedent the Supreme Court is considering. 

A majority of Republicans do not approve of colleges admitting students based on race, while 31% of Democrats believe that colleges should factor in an applicant's race when making admission decisions, according to a poll.

A Marquette Law School national survey on potential Supreme Court decisions asked Americans if they support or oppose a rule that colleges may use race as a factor when deciding which applicants to admit. The poll found 41% of Americans favor the Supreme Court banning race-based college admissions.

According to the poll, 32% of "strong" Democratic respondents think that colleges and universities should use race as a factor when deciding which students to admit, while only 27% favor a Supreme Court ruling saying colleges cannot factor in race when making admission decisions. Among all Democratic respondents, 31% approve of the rule and 22% oppose the possible decision.

Among "strong" Republicans, 55% favor the Supreme Court opposing the use of race when colleges consider applicants, while 9% oppose the court declaring colleges cannot admit students based on their race. Among all Republicans, 56% agree that race-based admission should be banned, and 9% believe it should be a factor considered by colleges.

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The Supreme Court of the United States. (Patrick Semansky)

Over 60% of respondents who consider themselves as strongly conservative said they would favor SCOTUS ruling against race-based admissions, and 5% would oppose the decision.

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About 32% of those who are strongly liberal think that colleges should consider an applicant's race when admitting students into the school, and 21% do not think race should be a factor.

Among White respondents, 45% favor and 16% oppose a potential SCOTUS decision against race-based admissions. About 37% of Hispanics favor a ban on race-based admissions, and 13% oppose the possible rule, while 27% of Black respondents favor a ban on race-based admissions, and 21% believe colleges should be legally allowed to use race in the college admission process.

Members of the Supreme Court have heard oral arguments in two cases regarding discrimination through racial-based college admissions. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Among all respondents, 44% said that they approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing and 56% disapprove. The latest polling data reveals a positive increase in support for the Supreme Court from a September Marquette poll that found 40% of adults approved and 60% disapproved of the job the justices are doing.

The Marquette Law School poll was conducted from Nov. 15-22 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

The Supreme Court recently heard two cases from Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), alleging Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are illegally using race to determine applicant qualification and discriminating against Asian American students.

Activists hold up a "Shut down SCOTUS" sign near the Supreme Court during a protest in June. (Fox News Digital/Lisa Bennatan)

Mike Zhao, president of the Asian American Coalition for Education, pressed the court to make a decision that would end decades of race-base admissions and a process that he believes discriminates against Asian American students.

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"We are confident that a majority of justices will uphold the U.S. Constitution and end the divisive and failing policy of using race in college admissions," Zhao told Fox News Digital in a statement.

"Because of such horrendous discrimination, many Asian-American applicants have to hide their racial identity to get admitted by America’s selective colleges. Unfortunately, in 21st century America, our children are still being treated as second-class citizens." 

Fox News' Patrick Hauf and Cortney O'Brien contributed to this report.