Voter turnout was huge for a mid-term election. So what motivated people to go to the polls?
NBC News conducted an exit poll as voters left polling places across the United States on Election Day. A third of voters in the country said inflation mattered most this year, and just over a quarter of voters said the top issue was abortion.
‘"There were two big issues that brought voters to the polls yesterday and over the past month, and they differed depending on which party you were in,” said UC San Diego professor of political science Thad Kousser.
According to the NBC News exit poll, 32% of people who named inflation as the number one issue, nearly three-quarters were Republicans. Of the 27% of voters who said abortion was the big issue, three-quarters were Democrats.
Abortion was on the ballot in five states, including Michigan.
“‘In some states, it brought voters to the polls to cast a ballot on something like Michigan’s proposition that would ensure abortion rights ... they also voted a democratic ticket," said Kousser.
Democrats in California, who also had an abortion measure on their ballot, are hoping for a similar result.
Local
“The democrats hope they’ll push their candidates across the line with all the turnout that came from Proposition 1 at the top of the ballot. That was the single thing on the California ballot that received the highest support,” said Kousser.
Kentucky also had abortion item on the ballot. In that state, voters rejected an initiative that would have banned abortion and also delivered a super majority to Republicans in the state legislature.
