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Younger Ohioans are registering to vote in big numbers after US Supreme Court abortion ruling

By: Karen Kasler | Statehouse News Bureau
Posted on: Saturday, September 3, 2022

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — There’s been a flood of people registering to vote since the US Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health in June striking down the right to abortion. Even though this midterm year with a Democratic president was predicted to be good for Republicans, the data in Ohio and some other states is suggesting something else.

Poll workers wait for voters in Franklin County, Ohio behind a door that has a voting today sign taped to it — Poll workers wait for voters in Franklin County, Ohio. [Daniel Konik | Statehouse News Bureau]

Ohio’s voter registration form doesn’t ask for gender. So Tom Bonier at the Democratic political data company TargetSmart said they use commercially available databases to derive educated guesses at gender.

He estimates Ohio women are leading men in registering to vote by double digits.

“Prior to June 24^th, when you look at the new registrants in Ohio, they’re roughly even between women and men, which is generally what you would expect to see,” Bonier said in an interview for “The State of Ohio”. “After Dobbs, women have an 11 point gender gap advantage over men among new registrants.”

That’s been the case in other states too, said Bonier. He said women voters signed up in big numbers after the ruling. In early August, Kansas voters resoundingly rejected a ballot issue to restrict abortion rights 59%-41%.

Ohio’s voter registration form does require a birthdate, so age can be determined. And Bonier said there are lots of new younger voters since this summer.

“58% of those voters who have registered to vote in Ohio since the June 24th Dobbs decision are under the age of 35, which is a pretty, pretty significant increase from just before that period,” Bonier said.

A recent poll shows younger voters are more motivated this year, but in 2020 less than half of voters under 29 cast ballots. But Democrats have the edge with women, who are more likely to vote than men.

Voter registration for the November 8 election in Ohio ends on October 11. Early voting begins the next day.