Most Americans remain opposed to affirmative action, new poll reveals
By Bryan Ke
February 22, 2023
The majority of respondents in a recent public opinion poll revealed that they do not agree with affirmative action.
The results of the poll, conducted by Reuters/Ipsos from Feb. 6-13, show that 62% of 4,408 American adult respondents believe that race should not be a determining factor when assessing college applicants.
Of those who responded, 73% of Republicans and 46% of Democrats said they were against race-conscious admission practices, or affirmative action. Meanwhile, 67% of white respondents and 52% of minority respondents stated that they are against affirmative action.
Furthermore, 46% of respondents declared that practices such as affirmative action “discriminated unfairly against white people.” Almost half (49%) of these respondents were white respondents, while 39% were minority respondents.
When asked about other significant factors that should be considered when assessing college applicants, 68% of respondents said grades “should be a major consideration,” 37% said athletic ability should not be considered, and 56% said applicants with relatives at their selected schools should not be assessed any differently.
Although the majority of the respondents were against race-conscious admission practices, 58% of them expressed support for programs that help boost racial diversity in schools.
The recent poll was conducted as the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to issue its rulings for cases that have questioned the legality of the practice at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.
A previous survey revealed that eight in 10 Asian Americans are against affirmative action, while 54% of respondents of a poll conducted by The Economist and British analytics firm YouGov shared the same stance.
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