KFF Survey of Women Voters Dashboard

Heading into the 2024 presidential election, a majority of women across party, age, race and ethnicity report feeling “anxious” or “frustrated.” But this doesn’t mean they are apathetic; only one in five women voters say they are “uninterested” in the election. More than half of women voters say they are either “not too satisfied” or “not at all satisfied” with their options for President including three-fourths of independent women voters. The poll suggests Republican women are slightly more motivated than Democratic women to vote and more likely to report feeling hopeful and enthusiastic about the election. About halfway through the field period, former President Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in New York City, though our analysis finds that Republican women voters maintain the same levels of enthusiasm, hopefulness, and satisfaction with the candidate options before and after the ruling. Democratic women voter attitudes are also unchanged.

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In Their Own Words

Four in ten women voters say inflation is the most important issue determining their vote in the 2024 presidential race. This is followed by about one in five (22%) who say threats to democracy is the most salient issue for them. Fewer say immigration and border security (13%), abortion (10%), gun policy (4%), the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza (3%), or the war in Ukraine (1%) are the most important issues for them headed into this election. While inflation is the top voting issue for many key groups of women voters (including Black women, Hispanic women, younger women, and Republican women overall) there are differences in issue priority not only by partisanship, but also age.

Voters’ emphasis on inflation is especially important as many within President Biden’s base don’t approve of his handling of this issue. Nearly half of Democratic women voters overall and within Democrats, most younger women voters (72%), Black women voters (55%), Hispanic women voters (57%), and lower-income women voters (55%) do not approve of how President Biden is handling inflation. The poll shows many women voters worry about the cost of everyday expenses, and these personal worries paint their frustrations about the current national situation, as many do not trust either political party to handle the rising costs they face. Conversely, a large majority of Republican women approve of former President Trump’s handling of various issues.

Two years after the Supreme Court Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the KFF Survey of Women Voters finds age, partisanship, and state dynamics all play a role in whether the issue of abortion is motivating voters in the upcoming election. This group strongly supports abortion access and skews more Democratic and younger than voters overall.

Most women voters say that this upcoming presidential election will have an impact on access to abortion and reproductive health care in the U.S., though Democratic women are more likely to say it will have a "major impact."

As of mid-June, there are 10 states where voters may be deciding on abortion access on Election Day. Democratic women voters living in states where abortion may be on the ballot are more likely than those in other states to say that this year’s presidential election will have a major impact on access to abortion and reproductive health care in their state. Additionally, more than half (53%) say they are “more motivated” to vote in this year’s presidential election while more than half (57%) of Democrats living in states where abortion is not on the ballot say they are just as motivated or less motivated.

In states with potential ballot initiatives, Republican and Democratic women voters are about equally likely to say they are certain to vote (82% and 83%, respectively). In all other states, however, Republican women voters are more likely than Democratic women voters to say that they’ll definitely vote in November (80% vs. 72%).

Assessing their own party's efforts on abortion policy, Republican women are more likely to say their party has done "the right amount" to restrict access to abortion, while Democratic women say they want their party to do more to ensure access. Many women voters expect changes to federal laws on abortion, though voters are not unanimous on what would happen if there was a second term for either former President Trump or President Biden.

Two-thirds of women voters identify as pro-choice but views on whether abortion should be legal are largely divided along party lines with large majorities of Democratic women (91%) and independent women (81%) saying abortion should be legal, compared to half of Republican women who say abortions should be either illegal in all or most cases. In addition, most Republican women voters support a national ban on abortions after 15 weeks, and most Democratic women support a law guaranteeing a national right to abortion. But there is consistent support, across partisans, for laws protecting access to abortions for patients who are experiencing pregnancy-related emergencies and in the case of rape or incest.

Four in ten women voters say inflation is the most important issue determining their vote in the 2024 presidential race and many women voters worry about affording everyday costs. These personal worries paint their frustrations about the current national situation, as many do not trust either political party to handle the rising costs they face. Inflation is among the top voting issues for many key groups of women voters, including Black women, Hispanic women, younger women, Democratic women, and Republican women overall.

While it does not rise to the most important issue deciding the election for most women voters overall, there are signs that the war between Israel and Hamas may be a weakness for Biden among his base, particularly younger women. Women voters are unsatisfied with the current administration’s approach to the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with 48% of Democratic women saying they approve of Biden’s handling of U.S. involvement in the war. This is the lowest approval rating of all policy items asked of Democratic women regarding President Biden, followed by inflation (53%). Young Democratic women, ages 18-29, and Hispanic women are among the least likely to approve of Biden’s approach (20% and 38%, respectively). Democrats and independents say President Biden is being “too supportive” of Israel, while majorities of Republicans say he is “not doing enough” to support Israel.

In Their Own Words:

Around 1 in 10 Democratic women who are unsatisfied with their options for president cite the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza as the primary reason for their dissatisfaction with Biden as the Democratic candidate.

"Joe Biden has not taken a firm stance in ending the current genocide in Gaza which is unforgiveable [sic]." - 24 year-old Hispanic woman voter, Arizona, independent

"Wasn’t very impressed with him to begin with but his stance and funding of Israel has made me dislike him and not want to continue to have him in office." - 37 year-old White woman voter, Virginia, independent

"The continuation and funding of the war in Gaza. The lack of humanitarian aid being provided to Gaza. The lackluster condemnation of Israel. The endless amounts of tax payer money that we give to Israel." - 28-year Asian woman voter, Texas, Democrat

While women voters constitute a majority of all voters in most elections, they are a diverse voting bloc with varying opinions and experiences across partisanship, race and ethnicity, and age. This survey is unique in its ability to report on a nationally representative sample of some of the most important groups of women voters including Black women voters, Hispanic women voters, women voters across age groups including those of reproductive age (ages 18-49), women voters by partisanship, White women (who are the largest group of voters, representing about two-fifths of the total electorate, but rarely vote as a monolith), and suburban women. Below are additional analyses of specific groups of women voters that will be key in the upcoming election. See the Polling Insights section for more information and more in-depth reports on each of these groups. As more analyses are published, key findings will be added to this section.

Suburban Women Voters

The KFF Survey of Women Voters finds suburban women still lean Democratic and nearly half say they plan on voting for President Biden in November. Yet for many, inflation is top of mind – an issue that four in ten say neither political party does a better job of addressing. On the key issue of abortion, suburban women align most closely with the Democratic Party in terms of the policies they support. Women voters living in the suburbs who are Republican or lean Republican are more supportive of broader abortion access than their rural counterparts, even though more than half of suburban Republican women (58%) identify as pro-life (which is similar to the share of rural Republican women who say the same). Half of Republican suburban women say they think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and one in four (26%) say the Republican Party has done too much to restrict access to reproductive health services. 

In Arizona, a key battleground state where President Biden won the presidential election in 2020 by less than one percentage point, voters may be voting on the Arizona Right to Abortion Initiative this November. The initiative is a proposed state constitutional amendment which would establish a fundamental right to abortion until fetal viability, typically around 23 to 25 weeks of pregnancy. A close election and a probable abortion-related ballot measure makes Arizona an important state to watch in the coming months. This project includes interviews from 928 women voters in the state.

Note: KFF analysis of Arizonan women by party identification does not include those who lean to either party, to best capture the sentiment of independent women voters, who make up substantial share of registered voters.

While inflation ranks as the most important issue determining the vote of Arizonan women, race and ethnicity, age, and party identification reveal key differences in voters’ priorities. Inflation and immigration are among the most important issues for Republican women in the state, while Democratic women in the state are prioritizing the issue of threats to democracy. For independents each of these three issues rank in their top three issues when thinking about the issues important to them in the upcoming presidential race. In Arizona, abortion ranks fourth for women voters overall, and second only to inflation for women ages 18-29.

As immigration is of high importance for Republican women in Arizona, they overwhelmingly approve of former President Trump’s handling of the issue during his time as president.

While abortion may not be the number one presidential election issue for voters, this poll finds that it is still top of mind for some voters when thinking about the upcoming election. Women voters in Arizona may be voting on the Arizona Right to Abortion Initiative this November, a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment which would establish a fundamental right to abortion until fetal viability, typically around 23 to 25 weeks of pregnancy. Under current Arizona law, abortions are legal until 15 weeks, though abortion laws have been in flux since the state Supreme Court first ruled in April that an 1864 law criminalizing all abortions was enforceable. 

Arizona women largely support the potential ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights, though it is a mobilizing issue for women of reproductive age in particular. Six in ten (58%) women ages 18 to 49, including three-fourths of women under age 30, say they would be more motivated to vote in the 2024 election if the Arizona Right to Abortion Initiative appeared on the ballot. The presence of ballot measures that seek to expand abortion rights has been attributed to higher voter turnout among young voters in other elections, such as the 2022 midterm elections in Michigan.

A majority of Republican women in Arizona say the Republican Party has done the "right amount" to restrict abortion access. In contrast, about seven in ten Democratic women say the Democratic Party has "not done enough" to ensure access to reproductive health services.

Though four in ten Republican women voters in Arizona support the potential ballot measure which would enshrine a right to abortion until fetal viability and one-third identify as pro-choice, they still largely support Kari Lake, the front-runner Republican candidate for U.S. Senate from Arizona. Lake has said she wants to keep Arizona's current 15-week ban in place. For Republican women in the state, few (23%) say they would only vote for a Congressional candidate who shares their views on abortion and are about three times more likely than Democratic women to say it is not an important factor in their vote choice.

Abortion played a key role in voter turnout in the midterm elections in Michigan, as record numbers of women voted to enshrine the right to an abortion into the state constitution. A battleground state without an abortion-related ballot measure, the poll suggests Michigan women voters consider the issue largely settled and are thinking more about other key issues, most notably inflation. This project includes a sample of 876 Michigan women voters.

For Michigan women, inflation ranks as the most important issue for both Black women and White women in the state. It ranks among the top issues across partisans.

Overall, majorities of Democratic women in Michigan approve of President Biden's handling of student loan repayment and health care including abortion. Smaller shares of Democratic women approve of his handling of inflation and U.S. involvement in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

A statewide campaign to protest President Biden providing military aid to Israel and to demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza led to a historic number of “uncommitted” votes in the 2024 Democratic primary election in the state—estimated at over 100,000 or 13% of all votes in the election—further reflecting Michigan voters’ disapproval of Biden in this regard.

In contrast, former President Trump’s actions during his presidency garners widespread approval among Republican women in Michigan, including his handling of immigration and border security, the economy, and crime and policing.

Michigan's 2022 midterm election saw the highest youth voter turnout in the state that year and was one of just four states that saw an increase in turnout among youth compared to the 2018 midterms. Young women in particular turned out at higher rates, speculated to be a result of the Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative on the ballot—also known as Prop 3. Of the women who recall voting on the measure (69%), a majority say it was at least “somewhat” important to their decision to turn out to vote that year, including four in ten who say it was “very important.”

Majorities of Michigan women across age and party now say the legality of abortion in their state is “decided,” though a smaller share say it is still being determined, sentiment that may be explained by the ongoing legal efforts in Michigan to unwind restrictive abortion policies that were put in place before the constitution was amended.

Black women are going to be a necessary component of Biden’s strategy if he plans on winning Michigan’s electoral votes. Currently, President Biden isn’t generating the same level of support among Black women in Michigan that he did in 2020 with about one in five Black women (18%) now saying they plan on voting for former President Trump. Black women in Michigan are about three times as likely as White women to say the political party of candidates makes the biggest difference in how they vote for president, indicating that despite lower support for President Biden, they may vote for him because he is the Democratic Party candidate.

Yet, the cost of household expenses is causing worries for a majority of Black women in Michigan with at least six in ten saying the worry about affording the cost of health care (64%), their rent or mortgage (69%), their monthly utilities (70%), and food and groceries (75%). While a slight majority of Black women voters in Michigan say the Democratic Party does a better job than the Republican Party of addressing the cost of household expenses, three in ten say neither party does a better job of this, perhaps why some Black women voters in the state may no longer support the Democratic presidential candidate.

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Download: Topline & Methodology

This KFF Survey of Women Voters was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at KFF. The survey was conducted May 23 – June 5, 2024, online and by telephone among a nationally representative sample of 3,102 U.S. women registered voters in English (3,062) and Spanish (40). The project includes separate samples of 928 registered women voters in Arizona and 876 registered women voters in Michigan. The survey was administered online and via the telephone (using computer-assisted live interviewers). Sampling, data collection, weighting, and tabulation were managed by SSRS of Glenn Mills, Pennsylvania in collaboration with public opinion researchers at KFF.

The national sample as well as the samples in Arizona and Michigan were from L2, one of the major providers of voter list samples, and were weighted to match voter demographics. The margins of sampling error including the design effect for the national sample of women voters, Arizona women voters, and Michigan women voters are plus or minus 3 percentage points, 5 percentage points, and 4 percentage points respectively. For results based on other subgroups, the margin of sampling error may be higher. For more information about the methodology as well as to see sample sizes and margins of sampling error for other subgroups, see the topline document.

Sampling error is only one of many potential sources of error and there may be other unmeasured error in this poll or any other public opinion poll. KFF public opinion and survey research is a charter member of the Transparency Initiative of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.

Subsequent Polling Insights highlighting women voters by demographics and themes explored in the survey:

KFF Survey of Women Voters: Key Takeaways
Polling Insight: 4 Takeaways About Suburban Women Voters