Abortion has outpaced inflation and become the top presidential election issue for women under 30 since Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, according to results released Friday from a survey among female voters by KFF.
About 2 in 5 of the group of young voters said abortion was their top concern in the recent survey, compared with 1 in 5 who cited it as the most important in the same survey in the spring.
In the earlier edition, inflation was the top concern for younger voters, as well as for female voters of all ages. Inflation remained the top concern for women in every age group over 30 and for women in general. Women generally ranked abortion as their third concern, after inflation and threats to democracy, but ahead of immigration.
KFF, a health policy research, polling and news organization, surveyed 678 female voters from September 12 through October 1. Most of them took part in an earlier wave of the same poll, conducted in May and June. The follow-up study group was supplemented with 29 black women to ensure an adequate sample size of that group. The sampling error was plus or minus 5 points, with a wider range for subgroups of voters.
Abortion has long been a major issue, but the landscape changed in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court, powered by three justices nominated by Harris’ current opponent, former President Donald Trump, overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door for states to allow abortion to impose. prohibits.
Most Republican-controlled states now enforce such bans, including thirteen that ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy with few exceptions, and four with bans that take effect after about the first six weeks of pregnancy—before women often realize that they are pregnant. .
Harris has made abortion access a central part of her campaign.
In addition to the presidential race, a number of other elections this year could have an impact on the abortion landscape, including in nine states where ballot measures exist that would protect the right to abortion in the state constitution.
Races for Congress – as well as government agencies such as governors, legislators, Supreme Court justices and attorneys general – could also help determine the progress of abortion policy.
Overall, about two-thirds of women say the election will have a major impact on access to abortion, compared to just over half in the first survey.
Most women said it is likely that Trump would sign a federal law banning abortions after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy if Congress were to pass such a measure. Just as the investigation period ended, Trump said he would veto an abortion ban if anyone came behind his desk.
The majority said they believe Harris would sign a bill that would protect abortion access nationwide if Congress were to approve it.
There is deep division over which candidate would be better on abortion access. Most women said they preferred Harris, including 90% of Democrats and less than a fifth of Republicans. The survey found similar dividing lines around which candidates would be better off accessing contraception and in vitro fertilization.
The survey found that Republican women are slightly less hopeful and enthusiastic, and more anxious and frustrated about the presidential election than earlier this year. Democratic women, on the other hand, are much more hopeful and enthusiastic, although their anxiety has also increased.
Just as in the spring, just over half of Republican women are satisfied with their presidential choices. But satisfaction among Democratic women shot up from just over a third to three-quarters.
