Poll Shows US Majority Wants Checks on Presidential Overreach

Amid US President Donald Trump's authoritarian policies and practices, Americans are increasingly worried that too much power is concentrated in the White House, polling published Wednesday revealed.

YouGov surveyed 1,070 registered US voters on behalf of the campaign finance reform nonprofit Issue One and found that they "overwhelmingly support our constitutional system of checks and balances."

Fifty-six percent of those surveyed said the US political system is "too centralized," more than twice as many respondents who said it isn't centralized enough. Among Democrats, two-thirds agreed that political power is too centralized in the US, while 47% of Republicans and 56% of Independents agreed.

At least two-thirds of respondents of every political affiliation agreed that specific checks and balances—including congressional oversight (78%), Congress' power of the purse (68%), and judicial review (70%)—strengthen democracy.

Respondents were also asked whether they believe the president should be allowed to cross certain "red lines":

Asked if Trump "is going too far," 59% of overall respondents said yes, including 95% of Democrats, 79% of Independents, and 21% of Republicans.

“Americans want a Congress that will stand up to the president when they go too far—that’s the whole point of checks and balances,” Issue One founder and CEO Nick Penniman said in a statement.

“Our Constitution was designed to prevent any one president from acting like a king," Penniman continued. "But if our country keeps heading down this path, power will keep concentrating in the White House—and a representative government that is by and for the American people will be replaced with a government that only serves the president and those connected to him."

“Congress needs to step up and do its job," he added. "Upholding the Constitution is not about right versus left—it is about being on the right or wrong side of history.”

In an effort to "restore checks and balances" and "defend the Constitution," Issue One is launching a We The People Playbook, "a set of bipartisan policies rooted in Article I of the Constitution, designed to protect our freedoms, hold presidents accountable, and restore the balance of power."

The new poll and playbook are part of Issue One's Check the Exec campaign, which is fighting for the "restoration of critical checks and balances."

"This isn’t about left or right," says Issue One on the campaign's website. "It’s about protecting our democracy’s foundation: Congress makes the laws. The president enforces them."