By Roxy Szal for Ms. Magazine.
Broadcast version by Mary Schuermann for Ohio News Connection reporting for the Ms. Magazine-Public News Service Collaboration

Among young women voters ages 18-29 in the battleground states, abortion and women's rights are the most important and highly motivating issues in determining their vote, according to new Ms. magazine and Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) polling by Lake Research Partners across the nine battleground states of Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

"Despite constant reports in the media on inflation and rising prices as the top issues in this election, abortion and women's rights are actually the most important for young women as they head to the ballot box," said Katherine Spillar, executive editor of Ms.

Among women voters of all ages in the battleground states, abortion and women's rights are tied with inflation and rising prices in determining their votes, according to the Ms. and FMF poll of all women voters.

"The overturning of Roe v. Wade has lit a fire under women voters, and especially young women voters, who have the power to determine close elections," said Spillar.

Support for the Equal Rights Amendment Is a Motivating Factor in Midterms

The Ms./FMF polling also shows that 74 percent of young women support the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), with 72 percent saying it is "personally" important to them now that various states are banning abortion.

"The message from women voters is clear: The Equal Rights Amendment is more important than ever, especially young women who are most affected by the Court's decision," said Eleanor Smeal, president of Feminist Majority Foundation (publisher of Ms.) and a long-time leader in the fight for the ERA. "Voters-especially women voters-now know that rights can be taken away and want an amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing that rights cannot be 'denied or abridged on account of sex.'"

Just under three-quarters of all women voters (73 percent) support the ERA being placed in the Constitution, which is high among men as well (66 percent).

Court's Decision Impacts Young Women Voters in Battleground States

According to the poll:

. Forty-one percent of young women voters are feeling angry or worried about the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
. Over half (55 percent) of young women voters in battleground states say abortion and women's rights combined are the top issues that will determine their votes.
. Only 33 percent of young women voters rank inflation and rising prices as their top issues motivating their vote, with even fewer ranking climate change (9 percent) or education debt (5 percent) as their top issue.

In a generic congressional ballot across battleground states, young women voters support Democratic candidates (48 percent), topping support for Republican candidates (29 percent) by double-digit margins.

Young men in battleground states are split in a generic congressional ballot (42 percent Democratic and 41 percent Republican).

Women Voters of All Ages Energized by Abortion and Women's Rights

Abortion restrictions and outright bans have energized pro-abortion rights women to be motivated to turn out to vote in November in much larger numbers than their anti-abortion counterparts, refuting conventional wisdom that those opposed to abortion are more motivated by the issue.

. Thirty-five percent of pro-abortion rights voters prioritize women's rights and abortion in their vote decisions-compared to 10 percent of anti-abortion voters.

In this election cycle, women's rights and abortion matter, especially to women. This means women voters, who make up over half of likely voters in the battleground states, could decide the outcome of key races as candidates engage them on issues of personal relevance, including abortion and equal rights under the law.

. Among women voters of all ages, abortion and women's rights (at 31 percent) are just as critical as inflation and rising prices (at 32 percent), in determining their vote, and more important than crime (12 percent) or education (11 percent) regularly cited in media reports.

Roxy Szal wrote this article for Ms. Magazine.

Former President Donald Trump claims abortion will be "a very small issue" for voters this November but New Hampshire Democrats disagree.

Two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion remains accessible in the state up to 24 weeks with exceptions, although the GOP-led Senate blocked an effort to legally protect those rights earlier this year.

Kathleen Sullivan, former chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, is convinced voters will not forget.

"It's an issue in our governor's race, an issue in our legislative races," Sullivan observed. "It's going to continue to be a major issue in New Hampshire and, I think, across the country."

Trump said he supports the rights of states to make their own policies. A recent poll of New Hampshire voters finds abortion ranks third in importance behind the economy and immigration.

Abortion-rights amendments will be on the ballot in at least six states this election. Signatures have been submitted for ballot measures in at least four more. Already, voters in six other states have overwhelmingly backed abortion rights since Roe v. Wade was overturned, including conservative-leaning Kansas.

Sullivan said her party's nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris and her strong support of reproductive rights has reignited Democrats' enthusiasm for the race.

"It was like a tonic, I think, everybody just got very excited," Sullivan noted. "There's just a real burst of energy among not only young people, but all voters for the Harris-Waltz ticket."

Sullivan added there has been an increase in small-dollar donations to the state party and volunteers. Trump held a slight lead over President Joe Biden in New Hampshire prior to his decision to leave the race. In some polls, Harris now leads Trump by at least four points.

A Wyoming district judge is expected to decide a case over a state law which would ban abortions with few exceptions.

The "Life is a Human Right Act" claims abortion is not health care but it could contradict a constitutional amendment Wyoming voters passed in 2012, largely in opposition to Obama's Affordable Care Act, which reads: "Each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions."

Marcie Kindred, field organizer and communications director for the group Wyoming United for Freedom, said Wyomingites have long valued limited government.

"We have always been a traditional live and let live state," Kindred explained. "These complex, deeply personal health care decisions belong only to women, their doctors, their families and their chosen faith."

The state supreme court declined to hear the case in April. The same district judge deciding this case will also decide on Gov. Gordon's first-in-the-country measure to ban abortion pills.

Wyoming United for Freedom was formed at the end of last year, Kindred noted, when other abortion advocacy groups were overwhelmed with work following the overturning of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion.

Abortion access will not be on the Wyoming ballot this November but Kindred pointed out the group is preparing for action in several scenarios, including if the judge decides the constitution protects the right to abortion.

"We will still need to organize to defend against attacks on reproductive freedom from our legislature," Kindred stressed. "And make sure that we are electing people that will protect those rights."

In Wyoming, citizens can initiate amendments to state statutes but only the legislature has the power to introduce measures to change the state's constitution. Opponents of abortion rights want to see the Dobbs case upheld.


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Vice President Kamala Harris focused on reproductive rights at a campaign event in Michigan Wednesday.

Her remarks come as President Joe Biden has fallen behind former President Donald Trump in the state, according to the latest polls. In front of a crowd of hundreds, Harris stressed abortion rights are at risk if Republicans win in November. She said Biden has vowed to veto any attempts to ban abortion nationwide.

"We believe in freedom. Freedom from the government telling us what to do about matters of heart and home," Harris explained. "We believe in the right of people to make basic decisions, like when and if they will start a family and how."

Meanwhile, Trump's pick for vice president, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, has supported national abortion bans and opposed exceptions for rape and incest. Democrats are hoping the distinction will lead them to a victory this year in the key battleground state of Michigan. It was a critical issue for voters in 2022, when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won her reelection race easily and both chambers of the state legislature flipped to Democrats for the first time in decades.

In her speech, Harris condemned political violence following the recent attempted shooting of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania political rally. She also praised the gun safety measures Michigan lawmakers passed in recent years, including universal background checks and safe storage requirements. She added politicians in Washington, D.C., should favor similar laws.

"The solutions don't really require that much creativity," Harris asserted. "What they do require is people in the United States Congress to have courage to act and do what we know is the right thing to do and not cower, based on special interests and powerful lobbyists."

One Michigan Democrat in Congress, Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, has called on Biden to drop out of the presidential race over concerns about his age and cognitive ability. Harris would likely be a top replacement choice in the race against Trump.


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