By Deidre McPhillips Guest Column , CNN
Abortion is a Key Motivator for US Voters in Midterm Elections
About half of registered voters in the United States say they are more motivated to vote in next month ’ s midterm elections than they were in previous elections – and abortion is a key issue driving that motivation , according to new survey data from the Kaiser Family Foundation .
Exactly 50 % of US voters now say that the US Supreme Court ’ s decision to overturn Roe v . Wade has made them more motivated to vote this year , up 7 percentage points from July , when the same question was asked just a few weeks after the ruling .
After the decision in Dobbs v . Jackson Women ’ s Health Organization removed the federal right to abortion , some states moved to make local laws more restrictive . Voters in states with full abortion bans were more likely to say that those laws were making them more motivated to vote than in prior elections , according to the KFF survey .
Abortion is on the ballot next month in at least four states , including California , where voters will be asked whether the right to an abortion should be enshrined in the state constitution , and Kentucky , where legislators have proposed an amendment to the state constitution that would prohibit state protection of the right to an abortion .
Many gubernatorial candidates , as well as those running for positions in the US Congress and local legislatures , have made strong claims about abortion rights , too . Women are especially motivated by abortion rights , the new survey found : About 3 in 5 women ages 18 to 59 who say they are more likely to head to the polls next month cite the Supreme Court decision as a motivator .