POLL: Abortion is bigger voting issue this year than in past

The following is an excerpt from Gallup News.

More U.S. voters this year than in any past election year indicate that abortion will be an important factor in their vote for major offices.

Twenty-seven percent (27%) of registered voters say that a candidate must share their views on abortion to receive their vote, which is the highest measured in any election year.

At the other end of the spectrum, 16% say abortion will not be a major issue in their vote, nine percentage points lower than Gallup has measured in any prior election year.

As is typical, the largest percentage, 54%, say abortion will be one of many important factors in their vote.

The current results are based on a May 2-22 poll, which began just after the leaking of a draft opinion of a Supreme Court ruling that indicated the court was going to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision and allow states to impose new restrictions on abortion.

The poll finds that Americans are opposed to overturning Roe and that their attitudes have shifted toward greater support for legalized abortion.

The vast majority of partisans are aligned with their party platform, including 90% of Democratic registered voters who identify as pro-choice and 70% of Republican registered voters who identify as pro-life.

There has been a surge in Americans' identification as pro-choice rather than pro-life this year, as Roe may be overruled in the coming weeks.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of registered voters identify as pro-choice in the latest survey, compared with 38% who identify as pro-life.

Given the increase in the percentage of voters who say they would only vote for candidates who share their views on abortion and the increase in pro-choice identification this year, the issue appears to be a greater advantage for the pro-choice side than the pro-life side in this fall's elections. (Continued...)

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