You've probably noticed. But here at Mother Jones, abortion and voting rights are two of our biggest topics of coverage. We dedicate a ton of resources to reporting how each affects real lives, the GOP's commitment to cutting those rights, and how it all translates at the ballot.
So it comes as no surprise that measures concerning abortion and voting rights proved critical on Election Day, with voters turning out to protect both issues at polls around the country. Let's turn to our resident expert on all things elections and voting rights for a rundown on what unfolded. Below is what Ari Berman had to say about Virginia, where Republicans suffered huge defeats:
In Virginia this year, Democrats won both houses of the state legislature, which will prevent Republicans from instituting sweeping curbs on voter access. Democrats dramatically expanded voting rights when they previously controlled the commonwealth state in 2020 and 2021, but Republicans have since sought to aggressively curtail or eliminate the state’s pro-voting reforms. Earlier this year, every Republican member of the statehouse voted to shorten the state’s early voting period, ban absentee ballot drop boxes, eliminate automatic and Election Day registration, reinstate a strict voter ID law, and increase purges of the voter rolls. Those bills were narrowly blocked by the Democratic-controlled state Senate, and Tuesday’s results mean Republicans won’t be able to pass them for at least the next two years.
As for abortion, abortion rights once again proved to be a winning issue, including in Ohio, where voters amended their state constitution to enshrine the right to one. As my colleague Madison Pauly wrote, that's terrific news for so many, especially for pregnant people in the state where Republicans worked overtime to interfere with the vote. So are Republicans finally going to accept that abortion rights win elections? David Corn, in so many words, advises against holding your breath. In fact, some in the GOP seem hellbent on relying on other tactics beyond the ballot, including minority rule, to keep pushing their extreme views.
But let's end with some appropriate optimism considering yesterday's results, which include the whopping failure of candidates backed by Moms for Liberty. As one critic of the group said, "Really bad night for Hitler-loving homophobic book banners Moms For Liberty, whose candidates got shredded nationwide."
—Inae Oh
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