(NewsNation) — More Americans than ever plan on casting their ballots based on candidates’ abortion views, according to a new Gallup poll.
The poll revealed a record-high 32% of America’s voters would only vote a candidate into a major office if their opinions on abortion aligned, up 8 points from 2020.
The number of U.S. voters who advocate for abortion rights is holding historically high at 54%.
That percentage hit a fever pitch in May 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court removed abortion as a protected right in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Since that ruling, the percentage of those supporting the right to an abortion has never dropped back below 50%.
Of America’s abortion-rights voters, 40% say they would only vote for a candidate whose views align with theirs.
SCOTUS unanimously ruled Thursday to preserve access to mifepristone, a drug commonly used in medication abortion. The poll found 60% of Americans back the legality of that pill.
Similarly, just over half of American voters (51%) reported it’s “very important” for Supreme Court nominees to share their views on abortion.
Another takeaway from the poll is the relationship between party identities and abortion views when casting ballots.
A candidate’s position on abortion is more important to abortion-rights voters now than it was in the last election cycle. Roughly 23% polled that they would decide votes based on abortion views, while anti-abortion voters trended conversely down to 8%.
Similarly, the majority of registered Democrats, 52%, are influenced by politicians’ abortion views — a sharp jump from 37% in 2022.
Republicans and independent voters have barely changed, polling around 20%.
“In an era of hyper-partisanship and where candidates generally align with their party’s position on the abortion issue, this isn’t likely to affect whom Democrats vote for, but it could help drive Democrats to the polls,” the poll suggests.