Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point

by Steven Levitsky

But our counter-majoritarian institutions have untethered the views of “the people’s elected representatives” from the views of the people themselves. A June 2022 Monmouth University poll showed that only 37 percent of Americans approved of the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Similarly, a May 2022 Gallup poll found that 55 percent of Americans identified as “pro-choice” while only 39 percent identified as “pro-life.” According to the Pew Research Center, 61 percent of U.S. adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while only 37 percent believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. Despite broad majority support for abortion rights, however, counter-majoritarian institutions have thwarted the attempts of Democrats in Congress to codify Roe. The Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have prevented states from restricting abortion rights, passed the House but was dead on arrival in the Senate, falling well short of the sixty-vote threshold needed to break the filibuster.