Memo

October 31, 2024
To: Interested reporters
Re: The 2024 Election: Women and family issues on the ballot
Contact: Amaya Smith asmith@nationalpartnership.org

Overview

Across the country women are heading to the polls to vote in one of the most pivotal elections of our time. In addition to voting for candidates, voters will also weigh in on critical ballot initiatives that may expand access to abortion and access to paid sick leave. In the midst of this, we are seeing continued attacks on our democracy and the right to vote – an issue that we know is deeply connected to women’s ability to have equity in all aspects of our lives.

*We will be updating this data as election results are confirmed and our experts are available to speak on these and other issues. We will have rapid analysis in the days following the election about who is most impacted and what the ballot measure and presidential and state level elections results tell us about the future of abortion rights and access.

What to watch for

• Abortion
  • More than 16.5 million women of reproductive age (22 percent of all women of ages 15-49 in the U.S.) could be impacted by changes to reproductive rights laws in their state, depending on the outcome of votes on these measures
  • Abortion is currently banned in five of the 10 states with ballot measures this fall, meaning that 8.2 million women of reproductive age (half of all women in states with abortion ballot measures) would see a significant increase in their rights should these measures pass
  • Women of color are especially likely to live in states where abortion is on the ballot, with 23 percent of all women of color of reproductive age living in these 10 states, compared with 21 percent of all white, non-Hispanic women
    • American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) women, Latinas and Black women all especially stand to benefit from these ballot initiatives
  • Half of all women (54%) voters in battleground states say it is a dealbreaker if an elected leader opposes a federal law to protect access to abortion nationwide
• Paid sick days
  • We are tracking paid sick days ballot initiatives in three states (Alaska, Nebraska, and Missouri) to see if these states will join the 15 existing states with paid sick days laws
  • While the share of workers with access to paid sick days has increased by 30 percent since 2009 due to the increasing number of states with these laws on the books, nearly 27 million workers – more than one in five private sector – lack employer-provided paid sick days.
  • Part-time workers and those in low-wage occupations – disproportionately women and people of color – are especially likely to lack paid sick leave
• Historic firsts
  • If elected Wilmington, Delaware state Senator Sarah McBride would be the first openly transgender person elected to Congress – McBride is a strong supporter of paid family leave
  • Angela Alsobrooks, if elected, stands to be the first Black woman elected to the Senate from Maryland
  • Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, if elected, would be the first Black woman elected to the Senate from Delaware
  • In the history of our country only two Black women have ever been elected to the Senate and only three have ever served in the body. If both Blunt Rochester and Alsobrooks are elected, two Black women will be serving at the same in the US Senate for the first time in our nation’s history
  • Oregon state representative Janelle Bynum, if elected, would be the first Black women to serve in the House of Representatives from her state
  • Kamala Harris, if elected, would be the first woman to serve as president of the United States and the first Black woman and woman of South Asian descent to serve in this role
  • Follow the Center for American Women in Politics for more historic firsts: https://cawp.rutgers.edu/election-watch/election-2024-potential-milestones-and-firsts
• What’s at stake for women and families in states
  • Arizona: Economic and Health Justice for Women and Families in Arizona
  • Florida: Economic and Health Justice for Women and Families in Florida
  • Georgia: Economic and Health Justice for Women and Families in Georgia
  • Michigan: Economic and Health Justice for Women and Families in Michigan
  • Hawaii: Economic and Health Justice for Women and Families in Hawaii
  • Illinois: Economic and Health Justice for Women and Families in Illinois
  • North Carolina: Economic and Health Justice for Women and Families in North Carolina
  • New Mexico: Economic and Health Justice for Women and Families in New Mexico
  • Nevada: Economic and Health Justice for Women and Families in Nevada
  • Pennsylvania: Economic and Health Justice for Women and Families in Pennsylvania
  • Texas: Economic and Health Justice for Women and Families in Texas
  • Wisconsin: Economic and Health Justice for Women and Families in Wisconsin

# # #

Media Contact:

Amaya Smith
Email
202-986-2600