Majority of Americans would vote in favor of abortion legality in hypothetical state-level ballot measure

New Ipsos/USA Today poll finds support for deciding abortion rights at the state level using such a ballot measure exists across party lines

The author(s)
  • Mallory Newall Vice President, US, Public Affairs
  • Charlie Rollason Senior Research Manager, US, Public Affairs
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Washington, DC, August 10, 2022 --

With abortion no longer a constitutional right after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, a new Ipsos poll, provided exclusively to USA Today, finds that seven in ten Americans, regardless of party affiliation, would support their state using a ballot measure to decide abortion rights at the state level. In such a hypothetical state-level ballot measure, most Americans say they would vote in favor of abortion legality; although, partisan divides in support of abortion legality exist.image

 

Read more here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/08/10/voters-abortion-rights-state-ballots-poll/10284741002/

 

The poll also finds that:

 

1. In the wake of the early August 2022 ballot measure in Kansas that would have repealed the state’s constitutional protection for abortion, fewer than half of Americans (40%) are very or somewhat familiar with this initiative.

  • Three in five (59%) say they have either heard of it but know almost nothing about it or have not heard of this statewide ballot measure.
  • Awareness gaps exist based on one’s education level, age, and party affiliation. A bare majority of Americans with college degrees (56%), over age 65 (53%), and Democrats (52%) are familiar with the recent Kansas initiative, making them more informed than their counterparts.

2. Despite a relative lack of familiarity with the recent case study in Kansas, seven in ten Americans say they would support their state using such a ballot measure to determine state-level abortion rights. In that hypothetical vote, over half of Americans (54%) say they would vote in favor of abortion legality.

  • Though it is a bare majority that indicates their support for abortion legality at the state level, this number is nearly twice as large as those who say they would vote against (28%). The rest indicate they are either unsure or not registered to vote.
  • There is majority support for statewide abortion legality among both Democrats (76%) and independents (52%). Most Republicans (54%) say they would vote against abortion legality in a statewide ballot measure.
  • In general, most Americans exist in a sort of middle ground on abortion, saying it should either be legal in most cases (32%) or illegal in most cases (28%). Around one in four (28%) believe abortion should be legal in all cases (including 48% of Democrats and 41% of Gen Z respondents). Just 9% favor a complete ban on abortion.

About the Study

This Ipsos poll, provided exclusively to USA Today, was conducted August 5-8, 2022, using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,018 adults age 18 or older. The sample includes 334 Democrats, 264 Republicans, and 319 independents.

The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult US population. Our recruitment process employs a scientifically developed addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the US. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population.

The data for the total sample were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, household income, and 2020 presidential vote. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2021 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS). The 2020 vote benchmark comes from the Federal Election Commission's Official 2020 Presidential General Election Results.

  • Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
  • Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
  • Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
  • Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
  • Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
  • Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
  • 2020 Vote (Biden, Trump, Did not vote)

The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.32. For Demorats, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 6.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For Republicans, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 6.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For independents, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 6.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on other sub-samples. Sampling error is only one potential source of error. There may be other unmeasured non-sampling error in this or any poll. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

 

About Ipsos

Ipsos is the world’s third largest Insights and Analytics company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people.

Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.

Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1st, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).

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The author(s)
  • Mallory Newall Vice President, US, Public Affairs
  • Charlie Rollason Senior Research Manager, US, Public Affairs

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