On this Election Day eve, the women's vote may have more power than in any other past election according to analysts.
Hamline University Political Science Professor David Schultz telling Vineeta Sawkar on the WCCO Morning News women make up 53 to 54 percent of the electorate, and the reproductive rights issue remains paramount to them.
"We have far more women who identify with the Democratic Party than men," says Schultz. "And so that's part of it. And second, much like in 2022, reproductive rights, abortion seems to be a driving issue for a lot of women. Basically bodily autonomy."
A recent Gallup poll shows voters who identify as pro-choice outnumber those who identify as pro-life for the third consecutive year, marking a reversal of the pro-life advantage between 1996 and 2020.
"If women, and especially women under the age of 30, come out to vote in the numbers that I think they might come out to vote, then Harris wins," predicts Schultz. "If they don't come out, then Trump wins."
These results come two years after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization leaked draft decision foretold the court’s plan to abolish constitutional protection for abortion.
"So there's lots of indications out there that this is a race that's really coming down to," asks Schultz. "What do female voters decide to do or not decide to do?"
On Saturday, thousands of women rallied in the nation’s capital and elsewhere in support of abortion rights and other feminist causes ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Demonstrators carried posters and signs through city streets, chanting slogans such as “We won’t go back.” Some men joined with them. Speakers urged people to vote in the election — not only for president but also on down-ballot issues such as abortion-rights amendments that are going before voters in various states.
Abortion rights has passed inflation as the top issue in the presidential election for women under age 30 since Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee against Republican former President Donald Trump, according to a survey of female voters by KFF.
Ballot initiatives have surged in response to the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended the nationwide right to abortion and shifted the issue to states.
Nine states will consider constitutional amendments that would enshrine abortion rights — Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota. Most would guarantee a right to abortion until fetal viability and allow it later if necessary for the health of the pregnant woman.
A proposed amendment in New York doesn’t specifically mention abortion but would prohibit discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes” and “reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”
Some of Saturday’s rally participants also advocated for LGBTQ+ rights, higher wages, paid sick leave and greater efforts against gun violence.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.