For Black American women voters, abortion is at the top of their concerns in this year's presidential election, according to the poll by health policy research firm KFF.
The findings, as reported by the Associated Press, are a shift from other election years where the issue of abortion was far more likely to be considered an issue for white, conservative evangelicals.
These particular voters were highly motivated in recent elections for the White House and cast ballots for Donald Trump, who kept his word to appoint Supreme Court judges who would take away what some Democrats would consider a constitutional right.
Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 22 and the upcoming presidential election is the first since that occurred. Because of that, according to the poll, the voting dynamics have changed considerably this time around.
"It's a complete shift," said Ashley Kirzinger, a KFF pollster. "Abortion voters are young, Black women - and not white evangelicals."
By The Numbers
12% of voters who responded to the poll said abortion was the most important issue in this year's election, regardless of gender. However, for certain block of female voters, this issue is a top priority. These inclue 28% of Black women, 19% of women living in states where abortion is banned, and 17% of women who are under age 50.
Two-thirds of the voters who said that abortion was the most important issue believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Abortion has been a clarion call for white evangelicals for decades and they were eager to see abortion banned, their strong voter turnout numbers are a strong indicator.
Trump painted Democrats as being at risk of greatly expanding abortion and promised to deliver conservative judges who would eventually greatly curtail them. But that was then, and this is now, and the poll appears to bear out why.
"Abortion - it's clearly resonating with this group," Kirzinger said. "When we think about abortion access and who is disadvantaged, it's Black women."
Black women were crucial in helping Joe Biden defeat Donald Trump in 2020, and last week Biden's campaign announced Biden would be utilizing First Lady Jill Biden to help galvanize women again.
More than half of Black Americans live in the South, many of which are red states that introduced strict abortion laws in response to the striking down of Roe. V. Wade.
As of last year, roughly 25 million women were living in states that had enacted new restrictions following the court's decision, an Associated Press analysis found. Also, the poll revealed that two-thirds of voters who responded to the poll are against a national abortion ban beginning at 16 weeks.
Former President Donald Trump has never publicly backed an abortion ban. However, some believe that he has told people that he supports one.
