Statewide Poll Shows Alaskans Deeply Concerned With Kavanaugh Nomination

Anchorage, AK — Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska (ACLU) released the results of a new statewide poll showing Alaskans are concerned that Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court would negatively impact a wide range of issues they care about including voting rights, campaign finance reform, immigration policy, private school vouchers, health care access, reproductive rights, and more.

The poll of 602 likely voters in Alaska was conducted Aug. 14-20 by Harstad Strategic Research of Boulder, CO.

After hearing information about Brett Kavanaugh’s record, support for the nomination stands at only 39%, with 54% opposed to his nomination.

Another clear theme in these numbers is that Alaskans want Supreme Court justices who will be independent of President Trump’s influence and will hold him and his administration accountable. 63% said they oppose Kavanaugh’s position that sitting presidents should be immune from lawsuits, criminal investigations, and prosecution — a hefty 50% strongly disagree. 76% say it is important that the Supreme Court holds the President accountable — 55% say this is extremely important to them.

Issues most concerning to Alaskans about Kavanaugh’s nomination are the threat to Roe v. Wade (65%), protecting the voting rights of minorities (72%), and allowing religious or racially based immigration policy (65%). Also noteworthy is the wide range of issues with which Kavanaugh’s values are at odds with Alaskans - a majority of Alaskans said they were concerned with every one of the 14 different issue areas they were asked to weigh in on.

“While the ACLU of Alaska neither endorses nor opposes Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination, we feel it’s important to help Alaskans share with our senators their feelings about the values and changes to our communities he could help enact if confirmed,” said ACLU of Alaska Communications Director Casey Reynolds. “Senator Murkowski in particular needs to consider whether she wants to own the legacy of Kavanaugh as the deciding vote on the U.S. Supreme Court.”

The American Civil Liberties Union is our nation’s guardian of liberty. For nearly 100 years, the ACLU has been at the forefront of virtually every major battle for civil liberties and equal justice in this country. Principled and nonpartisan, the ACLU works in the courts, legislatures, and communities to preserve and expand the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States. The ACLU of Alaska, founded in 1971, is one of the 53 state ACLU affiliates that strive to make the Bill of Rights real for everyone and to uphold the promise of the Constitution—because freedom can’t protect itself.