Despite Abortion Rights Wins, Reproductive Rights Are Still on the Ballot in 2024

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, voters have resoundingly voted in favor of politicians and policies that support reproductive rights. In August of 2022, voters in Kansas supported a measure to protect abortion rights in the State Constitution, as did voters in Michigan, California and Vermont during the 2022 Midterm Elections — an election year that netted a much stronger Democratic turnout than expected, likely due in part to the regressive, draconian abortion bans enacted in red and purple states across the country post-Roe.

This year’s election was no different. In Ohio, voters ultimately decided to enshrine the right to an abortion in the State Constitution, after rejecting a measure put forth by anti-abortion advocates during a special election this past summer that would’ve required a 60 percent supermajority, versus a simple majority, for passing a citizen-led amendment. In Virginia, voters denied Governor Glenn Youngkin a trifecta in the state’s General Assembly, with the Democrats flipping the House of Delegates and holding the State Senate; in the weeks leading up to the election, GOP candidates pushed Youngkin’s proposed 15-week abortion ban in the state, while Virginia Democrats focused on protecting abortion rights.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat who supports abortion rights, beat Republican challenger David Cameron, after focusing on Cameron’s support of Kentucky’s statewide abortion ban. And In Pennsylvania, Democrats won all four statewide judicial races, including a race for a crucial state Supreme Court seat that rules on cases of abortion rights. (The one major Democratic loss was in Mississippi, where Governor Tate Reeves beat Democratic challenger Brandon Presley — in that race, both candidates supported Mississippi’s abortion ban.)

There’s no question about it: voters like reproductive rights. The polls — which show support for abortion rights growing among Americans, not declining — agree.

The two-year wave in favor of pro-choice candidates and policies has been heartening for abortion rights advocates. But this trend will not necessarily hold in 2024. While Democrats tend to turn out more than Republicans in off-year elections, election experts suspect far more Republicans will come out to vote in the general election next year. Analysis has also shown that the Electoral College gave an outsized advantage to Republicans in the 2020 election.