National polling results released Wednesday reveal that 70% of U.S. adults across party lines support using ballot measures to determine abortion rights at the state level.
“With abortion no longer a constitutional right, Americans are looking to the voting booth to have their voice heard on the issue.”
The findings from the survey—conducted by Ipsos after an “enormous victory” for reproductive freedom advocates in Kansas last week—were exclusively provided to USA Today.
Pollsters found that 77% of Republicans, 73% of Democrats, and 67% of Independents believe that voters should “vote yes or no on whether abortion should be legal, when they are casting their ballot for other elected officials.”
Though 54% of all respondents said they would vote “in favor of abortion legality,” there was not majority support across all parties. While 76% of Democrats and 52% of Independents indicated that they would vote to protect abortion rights, only 34% of Republicans shared that position.
An even higher share of respondents—60%—said they believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases. Broken down by party, 82% of Democrats, 63% of Independents, and 32% of Republicans held that view.
Overall, 60% of Americans say they believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases"
— Catholics for Choice (@Catholic4Choice) August 10, 2022
We've said it before but we'll say it again: America 👏 is 👏 a 👏 pro-choice 👏 nation 👏https://t.co/DDkxVUYK3y
Only 40% of those polled said they were familiar with Kansas’ ballot measure, which would’ve cleared the way for anti-choice state lawmakers to impose an abortion ban but was rejected by 59% of voters.
“With abortion no longer a constitutional right, Americans are looking to the voting booth to have their voice heard on the issue,” said Ipsos president Cliff Young. “However, the divisions that exist across the states could bring legal, medical, and lifelong consequences for many parts of the country.”
Common Dreams reported last week that the result in Kansas boosted Democrats’ hopes for the upcoming midterm elections and led some pro-choice advocates to argue that ballot measures are a key tool to protect and expand abortion rights—especially considering the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent reversal of Roe v. Wade and current conditions in Congress.
“Kansans’ victory this week over extremist state legislators showed us plainly: Ballot measures are the next frontier for protecting access to abortion care,” said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project.
While abortion-related ballot measures have historically been anti-choice efforts like the one in Kansas, in the months ahead voters across multiple states are set to vote on measures that would support reproductive freedom.
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