More than half of Democratic-leaning voters say abortion has become a crucial motivation for them to vote in next month’s US midterm elections, according to a recent poll.
A survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) conducted in September reveals that June’s supreme court decision to overturn Roe v Wade has put a fire under Democratic voters, with more than half claiming they are more motivated to vote than in previous elections, and 50% of those citing as their prime reason the ruling on abortion.
This is a steep increase since May, when the ruling on Roe v Wade was the primary motivating factor to vote among 30% of the voters, and 43% in July.
In May, a leaked draft exposed that the supreme court was preparing to overturn Roe v Wade, sparking protests across the country. The next month the court followed through in the case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Among Republicans, the primary motivating factor to vote was the economy.
In its September survey of slightly more than 1,500 American adults, KFF collected strong opinions among both parties about why they were most motivated to vote.
“Because women’s rights are being threatened now more than ever and I’ll be damned if I stand by and let it happen,” said a 29-year-old woman voting Democratic from Alabama, while a 48-year-old Republican man in New York mentioned a wider range of issues: “Personal investments have plummeted, my grocery bill is astronomical, fuel cost is out of control, bail reform in NYS and criminals across the country are not being punished!”
Voters also told the poll they wanted candidates to talk more about abortion.
Abortion remains an important and growing issue among women: while a little less than 50% of women said they were more motivated to vote this year than previously, almost 60% of those said it was because of the overturning of Roe v Wade.
The poll found the racial group most motivated to vote was white voters, making up a little more than half of that pool; Latino voters were the least motivated.
Between parties, Republicans were more motivated to vote in these midterms than Democrats in general, although those numbers are quite close.
