On Tuesday, an unprecedented number of Consensus voted against a constitutional amendment that would have allowed lawmakers to end abortion protections. It’s a major victory for women’s rights, but the result also has major implications for the nationwide elections to be held this November. This is especially true in states where abortion rights are on the ballot after a reversal. cry vs. lowered And where Democrats want to stay in power.
Contrary to what some conservatives thought, abortion is an issue that could mobilize voters.
More than 900,000 Kansans voted to vote on the state’s abortion referendum. According to the Kansas Secretary of State’s office, this is the largest turnout for a primary election in state history. This number is close to what we expect to see in general election turnout, which is always much higher than in primaries. And it suggests that we may see even higher turnout in upcoming primaries where abortion is on the docket.
Known as “value them both,” the amendment would have removed the constitutional protections for abortion that came from a 2019 decision by the Kansas Supreme Court. About 60 percent of those Kansas voters this year voted against the amendment — or in favor of abortion rights — while nearly 40 percent voted for it. The gap is greater than expected in a state where polling has shown a similar divide between those who support abortion and those against it. Nationally, Americans strongly support the use of abortion in some cases.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the referendum is that it took place in a very Republican state. Only a quarter of registered voters in Kansas are Democrats, while 40 percent are Republicans. About a third are unrelated.
In the last general election, Kansas, as it has done for decades, ran for the Republican nominee. But in Tuesday’s primary, in every single county, votes on the referendum were on the left in the 2020 presidential election, according to a Washington Post analysis of Kansas secretary of state data.
The referendum seems to have specifically brought to the fore women who are known to be most affected by abortion laws. As Tom Bonnier, CEO of Democratic data firm TargetSmart, pointed out, the share of new Kansas registrars who were women skyrocketed following the US Supreme Court news. dobbs decision.
Dobbs’ decision involved women in Kansas to an unprecedented degree.
The chart shows the percentage of new registrants in the state who were female (as a 7 day average). Note the spike after the leak of Dobbs’ decision, and the huge surge after it was handed down by the Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/pvi3WpuR86
— tom bonier (@tbonier) 3 August 2022
In Kansas, the issue brought to the fore a record number of voters. Even Republicans would have voted for abortion rights. Now the question is whether people across the country will come forward for this issue as well.
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