Abortion is a nonpartisan issue, experts say. It could still affect the outcome in swing states
In this election, ten states will ask voters how their states should regulate abortion — including a couple of presidential swing states like Arizona. The ballot initiatives come two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs decision, which led many states nationwide to restrict abortion access.
According to an abortion policy tracker from KFF, 13 states have banned access to abortion, 6 states have gestational limits between 6 and 12 weeks from a pregnant woman’s last menstrual period, and 5 states have a gestational limit between 15 and 22 weeks. Most of the initiatives in the 10 states would allow abortion until fetal viability and guarantee access to abortion by adding amendments to the state constitutions.
Pro-abortion advocates are hopeful these measures will pass, as similar ballot measures have succeeded in every state in the past, including conservative-leaning ones, in the 2022 and 2023 elections. The shift speaks to the changing landscape of the issue of abortion and how voters value it in a post-Dobbs landscape. As a bonus, what has long been seen as a divisive issue among politicians, could result in more voter turnout, especially in presidential swing states. The 10 states with abortion on the ballot are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota.
Related
“There are some key strategies for winning on issues that are traditionally deemed progressive when we're working in states that are largely conservative or swing states,” Kelly Hall, The Fairness Project’s executive director, said in a press conference. “One of those is the importance of communicating to Republican and independent voters who do support this issue, but may be turned off by the messages that progressives would use if........
© Salon
visit website