Written by: Deb Bauder – A4W News Group
Larger numbers of women and younger people (under ager 30) are registering or planning to vote since the Dobbs decision weakened abortion rights. A survey raises the possibility that young women are likelier than their older counterparts to see the Supreme Court’s ruling and the ensuing scramble to ban abortion in red states as an attack on all women and not just a new set of restrictions on a medical procedure. Abortion is second only to mental health in importance to younger voters. In most mid-term years, younger voters tend to sit out the election. With the Dobbs decision putting the spotlight on reproductive health that could motivate the country’s youngest voters, particularly women, to turn out in higher numbers. In the 2022 midterm races, youth will have an immense impact and will likely be looking to cast votes for candidates that share their pro-choice stances.
There is a concern that as we move farther from the June decision and abortion is no longer on top of the news cycle this energy might fade and the newly registered voters might lose motivation. This is a good time to encourage our younger friends and relatives to register to vote and then follow up with them to be sure they’ve voted. Once the election is over let’s find a way to keep these newly registered voters energized and involved by offering them leadership roles and learning from their lived experience.
Learn more about how this increasingly important voting demographic is being motivated by the fight for bodily autonomy in the articles below:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/women-registering-to-vote-roe
https://msmagazine.com/2022/07/08/midterms-womens-rights-young-voters-abortion-access/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/05/abortion-roe-midterms/