CBS News poll analysis: Who wants to end or keep the filibuster?
Even as many Democrats tend to rank the economy, inflation and COVID-19 among top issues, most Democrats do say it is also "very important" to pass a voting rights bill, and two-thirds of Americans overall say it's at least somewhat important, as this week's CBS News poll showed.
Meanwhile, a majority of Democrats have certainly had their fill of the filibuster: they'd end it, as a general matter. But two-thirds of Republicans say they'd keep it.
That partisan split over the filibuster, a move by the minority to extend Senate debate and prevent it from receiving a vote on the floor, in principle, appears strongly connected to more immediate policy concerns. Of the Democrats who feel it's very important to pass a voting rights bill now, an even higher portion, seven in 10, would generally end the filibuster. That, of course, is the measure over which some Democratic leaders have discussed ending it.
However, the filibuster isn't exactly on every American's mind: a third haven't heard enough about it to say whether it should be kept or ended.
It may not come as a surprise that many don't have a view on the filibuster, since outside of the most politically engaged, it's not every American who follows Senate proceedings that closely.
Aside from Democrats, desire to end it also rises among Americans as a whole when they think the voting rights bill is important.
There is also a big difference on filibuster views as seen by age: younger people under 30 are the most likely to have not heard enough about it to offer an opinion; older Americans mainly have.
This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,094 U.S. adult residents interviewed between January 12-14, 2022. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, and education based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as to 2020 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.5 points.
