Ballot measures on abortion access and recreational marijuana may jolt election season in Florida, driving turnout among women and younger voters while giving Democrats renewed hope in former President Trump’s home state.
Until state Supreme Court justices Monday cleared the proposed constitutional amendments for the November ballot, increasingly red Florida was seen as a virtual lock for Trump. And it still may be.
But giving voters a chance to expand abortion access and make pot available to all adults could change the profile of who’s going to the polls. Trump and Republicans struggle with a significant gender gap while younger voters also favor Biden, polls show.
“It’ll bring out younger voters of all kinds and more white, female voters, both groups which lean heavy Democratic,” said Brad Coker, CEO and managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy.
“It’ll definitely help turn out voters in what for many was looking like a lackluster choice in the presidential race between Biden and Trump,” he added.
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Seven states have voted in support of ballot measures endorsing abortion access since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and gave states authority to impose fresh restrictions.
If approved by Florida voters, abortion access would be assured in the state until fetal viability, usually considered 24 weeks.