The judgment of Roe v. Wade will get voters to seek candidates for Election: Poll

A majority of Americans say they are now more likely to vote for a congressional candidate this fall who supports passing federal legislation to guarantee abortion rights, a new poll shows.

The revealing poll comes just days after the US Supreme Court delivered the landmark Roe v. Wade overturned that had guaranteed the right.

According to the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll conducted over the weekend, just over 60 percent of registered voters say the court’s decision increased their likelihood of voting in November’s midterm elections. By party, 78% of Democrats said they were more motivated to vote now, compared to 54% of Republicans and 53% of independents.

When they got to the polls, 62% of registered voters surveyed said the ruling gave them more motivation to vote for a candidate who would “support federal legislation restoring Roe versus Wade and abortion rights.” 36 percent of respondents said they would vote against a candidate for this reason, while 13 percent were unsure.

There remains a prevailing split between Republican and Democratic voters on this issue, with 67% of GOPers saying they would vote against a candidate that promotes abortion rights, while 86% of Democrats say they would support such a candidate .

Looking more broadly, the split is even wider: 88% of Democrats said they opposed the Supreme Court decision, while 77% of Republicans supported it. Still, a majority of Americans, or 56%, said they disagree overall.

The poll also found that most Americans – 55% – believe the decision was based on “politics” and not law, while 36% of respondents said the verdict was based on law.

Friday’s ruling struck down the landmark 1973 case that upheld a woman’s federal right to have an abortion, throwing the decision back to the states. Several conservative-led states have already enacted laws suspending or severely restricting the process.

The decision sparked massive concerns among progressive activists and Democrats about the future of other constitutionally protected rights like same-sex marriage and contraception — particularly as Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the decision apply to those cases as well.

The poll found that 56% of Americans are concerned the decision could jeopardize those other rights. While concerns lie mostly with Democrats — 89% — about 55% of independents and 18% of Republicans are also concerned, the poll found.

Meanwhile, America’s confidence in the Supreme Court is low.

Just 39% of respondents said they have “a great deal” or “somewhat” trust in the Supreme Court – up from 40% last month. 58% said they had “little” or no trust in the court – versus 56%.

The poll was conducted among 941 respondents from Friday to Saturday following the decision and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.