NORFOLK, Va. — At polling locations across Hampton Roads Tuesday, if you talked to voters you were likely to find many who said reproductive rights was an issue motivating them to get out and vote.
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At a polling location in Chesapeake, people filed in one or two at a time Tuesday morning and while most didn’t want to talk, those who did didn’t hesitate to mention reproductive rights.
“Whether abortion is for you or not, if we go back to the way things were we know it was unhealthy for women," said Voter Christina Hale.
“(The) big issue for me I guess would be reproductive rights. With that being such a defining concept that we’re all talking about, it’s very, very important to me to vote for the person who’s going to make sure I have the right to my own body," voter Jenna Navarro said.
ODU Political Science and International Studies professor Jesse Richman said this is in line with university research.
“At the Social Science Research Center at ODU we did some surveying around this, looking at people in the tidewater area. More than two thirds of the survey respondents said that this was going to be a very important issue for their vote," Richman explained.
As of Tuesday, abortion was allowed up to 26 weeks in Virginia.
In 2022, News 3 reported Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is in favor of restricting abortions to prior to 15 weeks except in cases or rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk.
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Recently the governor doubled down, calling out political candidates who refer to his plan as an abortion ban.
“They should all be ashamed of what they’ve said over this campaign because none of it has been true. All they’ve been trying to do is scare voters as opposed to chart a path to the future where Virginia will be the best place to live, work, and raise a family," Youngkin said.
WATCH: Virginia Democrats sweep legislative elections after campaigning on abortion rights, Ohio votes on issue
With the state legislature politically divided in 2022, any further abortion restrictions beyond what were already in place at the time were unlikely.
The 2023 election could change that and that could have an impact in other states.
“If republicans do surprisingly well, that becomes a model for Republican Party strategy nationally in terms of how to deal with the abortion issue. If it doesn’t go terribly well for the republicans, then I think it just reinforces the continuing importance of the abortion issue and the value of that issue for democrats," said Richman.
