Four in 10 Americans say that race relations in the United States have gotten worse under the nation's first black president, according to a new CNN/ORC poll

About 39% of Americans say that relations between blacks and whites have worsened since Obama took office, including 45% of whites and 26% of blacks. Just 15% of Americans say that race relations have improved under Obama, while 45% say that they have stayed about the same. While 76% of blacks say that the Voting Rights Act is necessary to ensure that blacks are able to vote, just 48% of whites agree. Likewise, 54% of African Americans say that blacks do not have as good a chance as whites to get jobs for which they are qualified, just 19% of whites agree. Three-quarters of African Americans (76%) say that the nation's criminal justice system favors whites, compared with 42% of whites who hold that same opinion. Republicans were far more likely to say that things have worsened under Obama (65%) than Democrats (26%). But even among Democrats, a scant 20% say that race relations have improved under the black president.