As political candidates shape their 2024 platforms, abortion will define election outcomes across America. I am sure of it. That's because beyond any campaign bluster or hot take, a cold, hard look at the numbers shows you why.
I lead IGNITE, America's largest, most diverse organization for Gen Z women's political power. We work with young women on college campuses around America, training them to vote, to run for office, and to lead. It's a nonpartisan effort and our young women lean in different directions. That's because at the current rate it'll be 118 years before there's gender equity in Congress. It doesn't matter if you're red or blue or somewhere between. We need women to win power on both sides of the aisle fast if we're going to achieve gender parity.
We all agree that the issues facing society are too urgent to wait 118 years. We can't sit back and trust Congress to solve mass shootings, health care, or climate change. We can't trust Congress to do it, the way Congress looks right now. Gen Z'ers say they need more women, more diverse, younger candidates who speak to their issues.
That's why they're voting and stepping up to run for office across America. It's also no secret that Gen Z'ers engage in politics in a different way. They reject partisan labels and political ideology. Thirty percent of our recent survey respondents identified as Independent. So, it's a myth that they lean one way or the other. They're winnable, from a candidate's perspective. Candidates need to connect on the issues they hold dear.
Sixty-five percent of Gen Z women identify abortion as a critical, top-five issue driving them to the polls. Since 96 percent of IGNITE women voted during the 2022 midterms, they're a powerful group. Gen Z and Millennials are now the largest voting bloc in the country. And it's a false narrative to describe Gen Z as a "wasted generation." These are decisive numbers when it comes to elections where even single digits matter.
Young people have shown they are ready to voice their outrage on abortion at the ballot box. In fact, they already have. Since June 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, there have been deep political consequences. The decision unleashed outrage on a scale unlike anything I have ever seen—not only in states that tend to lean one way or the other. I'm talking about results in Kansas, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. These are the bellwether states of America's political heartland. It's simple. Candidates who reject women's abortion rights are paying dearly at the ballot box.
Across America, seven states have so far voted to defend abortion. This year, more than a dozen more states are poised to see abortion on the ballot. That's because young women in states across the country are going out and gathering the thousands of signatures required to pass ballot measures upholding women's rights. From Arizona to Arkansas, from Colorado to Florida, from Maryland to Missouri, from Montana to Nebraska, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota, people are getting off the sidelines and into the fray to defend abortion on the ballot. Once voters are at the ballot, they are also going to vote for political candidates who choose to engage with their priorities. It's why abortion matters so much.
To be clear, young women could sit on the sidelines this year, too. Especially if candidates who emerge for office make no compelling case that they will address the issues that most concern Gen Z. But it would be tone deaf to ignore that a generation of young people is more politically engaged than ever before. Where abortion is concerned, the fate of the country could rest in their hands.
The future of political office in this country also looks different than in the past. Young women like Representative Munira Abdullahi, the first Muslim American woman elected to state office in Ohio, elected at just 26 years of age, came out and protested when the state rolled back abortion rights last year. Voter numbers in the November abortion referendum there showed Gen Z surging to the polls—in part because they saw a young woman like Munira speaking out on the issue and galvanizing the vote. Close to 700,000 Ohioans voted early, in person, or by mail. That was more than the early votes cast in the May 2022 primary elections. Munira saw lines for the polls snaking around the block. The statehouse was packed with protesters with more than 200 groups coming out against the anti-abortion amendments to the state's constitution. It's impossible to put that sort of energy back into the bottle. People are very fired up.
On the 51st anniversary of the decision in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade, the election ahead is a choice between moving forward or backward as a country. Young people in states with abortion "trigger laws" are experiencing higher rates of depression and anxiety. They are serious and committed to resisting such extremist visions for their country. I am so proud of them for rising up. It is now only up to the electoral candidates to meet them.
Sara Guillermo is the leader of IgniteNational.org, a young women's political empowerment organization.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
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