US presidential election: 1 in 8 voters say abortion is the most important issue in the vote

Abortion is an important electoral issue for the 2024 US presidential election, reveals a poll published Thursday by KFF. About half of voters (51%) believe this fall’s presidential election will have a “major impact” on access to abortion in their country and state. The positions of candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump on this subject have an impact on voters’ decisions.

For one in eight voters (12%), abortion is the “most important issue”, while for almost half of voters (52%) it is a “very important issue, but not the most important” . Furthermore, approximately one in three voters consider the subject “fairly important” (22%) or “not important” (14%) for their voting decision.

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade of 1973 by the decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruled by the United States Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, ruling that the Constitution does not provide a right to abortion, with the type of voters making abortion their highest priority when voting a exchange. Indeed, before the Dobbs decision, pro-life supporters and Republicans represented the part of the electorate most engaged on the subject. But since 2022, it is now the opposite. This new generation is made up largely of those who want abortion to be “legal in all cases”, African-American voters, Democrats, women voters, as well as young people aged 18 to 29.

Despite everything, the old situation persists, with approximately one in three voters considering abortion the “most important issue” who think that abortion should be “illegal in all or most cases”.

Four in ten voters (38%) trust the current American president more on abortion policy, while only three in ten (29%) prefer the former Republican president on the matter. A significant share of voters (21%) do not trust any of the presidential candidates on this issue.

Voters trust their own party’s candidate more on the subject of abortion. Eight in ten Democratic voters (79%) say they trust Joe Biden, while seven in ten Republicans (70%) trust Donald Trump.

LISTEN TO THE EDITORIAL