Women Are Registering to Vote in Huge Numbers in Response to Roe v. Wade Decision

When the Supreme Court stripped people across the country of their reproductive rights in June, we were hit with a chilling reminder of the crisis point that we all face – not only when it comes to abortion care, but for our rights nationwide.

This incredible blow to our freedoms has motivated more young people around the country to mobilize and to take action. Recent data from our friends at TargetSmart has shown that young people are rising up to reclaim the narrative in battleground states like Georgia, Wisconsin, and Arizona. There’s been a surge of women registering to vote in those key states – and we love to see it!

While overturning Roe v. Wade ends the constitutional right to abortion, it also infringes upon the first amendment rights of Muslim and Jewish people whose religious freedoms allow abortions. It undermines the inherent rights and freedoms that previous generations fought for decades to achieve.

As we face a crisis for our democracy, ensuring access to abortion care and reproductive healthcare is crucial. Lack of access to safe, timely, and affordable abortion care poses a risk to women, girls, and people of all gender identities. The data shows that young women in particular are mobilizing to fight for their rights.

In some key states, like Arizona, TargetSmart found that newly registered voters are more likely to be young women who identify as Democrats compared with those who registered to vote before the Roe decision.

But this new data from TargetSmart isn’t the only indicator of how the overturning of Roe v. Wade has shifted mindsets.

As Election Day 2022 nears, Women Are Voting – a coalition of organizations focused on mobilizing women to vote led by Supermajority – recently announced that they’ve made contact with more than 11 million voters so far this year. Supermajority was launched in 2017 to create a voting advocacy hub focussed on protecting women’s rights and on bringing women together as a political force that transcends race, background, and age.

The Women Are Voting coalition was co-founded by next-generation labor activist Ai-Jen Poo, who is also an award-winning organizer, author, and a leading voice in the women’s movement. She’s also the Senior Advisor of MVP grassroots partner Care in Action.

Women Are Voting said that the groups – many of which are led by women of color – are demonstrating their collective power by planning multiple touchpoints with voters in this final stretch with volunteer-driven calls, letters, texts and door-knocks as well as advertising, influencer and brand partnerships.

At MVP, we support hundreds of incredible organizations that both turn out unlikely voters and organize communities – from policy to the streets – so we love to see our allies doing the same!

The coalition has already surpassed the original goal of reaching out to 10 million voters in total, so now that it’s go time, they’re doubling down on efforts in the remaining weeks before November 8.