Three out of five Americans think the U.S. Constitution is fine as is, but 39% fear it doesn't place enough restrictions on the government, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
As the nation’s July 4 birthday nears, 91% say they would vote for the Constitution as the fundamental law of the United States. Just 2% would vote against it.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of voters say the 219-year-old “living document” should be left alone, while another 34% think it needs only unspecified minor changes. Just 5% suggest major changes, with 1% saying the United States should scrap it and start all over again.

Seventy-nine percent (79%) of voters rate the Constitution as good or excellent. That general level of support cuts across all partisan and demographic lines. However, there are significant gaps of enthusiasm. Only 39% of women view the document as excellent, compared to 57% of men. Forty-nine percent of white voters give it an excellent rating versus 28% of blacks.

Nearly twice as many Republicans (62%) rate the document as excellent, while only 32% of Democrats feel that way. Fifty-three percent (53%) of unaffiliated voters give the Constitution highest marks. Sixty-one percent (61%) of conservatives rate the Constitution as Excellent, a view shared by just 39% of liberals.

African-American voters are more supportive of changing the Constitution, with 23% calling for major changes. Just 3% of white voters support major changes.

Democrats favor minor revisions to the Constitution far more than Republican voters—51% of Barack Obama’s party say that either minor (41%) or major (10%) changes are needed. Just 23% of Republicans see the need for even minor changes. Overall, 76% of Republicans say the document is fine as is. Forty-seven percent (47%) of Democrats agree.

Nearly half of voters age 18-29 (47%) also favor some minor tinkering with the document, but substantial majorities in all other age groups say leave it alone.

A Rasmussen survey in mid-June found that 54% of voters believe the Supreme Court should base its decisions on what is written in the Constitution and legal precedent, rather than on the judge’s concept of fairness and justice. More recently, voters were pleased with a Supreme Court ruling upholding the Second Amendment and striking down a Washington, DC ban on handguns.

In the latest survey, only 14% of voters think the Constitution places too many restrictions on what government can do, while 39% say it is not restrictive enough and 38% say it’s about right as is. Fifty-nine percent (59%) say the bigger danger in the world today is a government that is too powerful. Only 23% worry more about a government that is not powerful enough.

Nearly half of male voters (48%) think the Constitution does not limit government enough, compared to 31% of women.

In another Rasmussen survey last month just 17% of voters felt that the federal government represents the will of the American people, while 67% believe the government has become a special interest group that looks out primarily for itself.

The results of this year’s survey are broadly similar to results from 2007. That survey measured the attitudes of American adults rather than likely voters.

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