LGBTQ+ civic engagement is vitally important for candidates who want to pass LGBTQ+ policies, and queer voters are a vital group in any campaign. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), one of the preeminent organizations for LGBTQ+ advocacy and resources, released its 2024 LGBTQ+ Climate Survey, designed to discuss LGBTQ+ issues heading into the 2024 election. I have taken some of the major findings of this report and laid them out right here.
LGBTQ+ people are motivated to vote
The survey described that 73% of all LGBTQ+ adults (18+) were very motivated to vote in the 2024 election. Almost every age range polled had high levels of motivation to vote, with the highest one being 91.2% belonging to baby boomers. The trend continued down by generation, with Gen X at 87.2%, millennials at 72%, and Gen Z at 59.8.% LGBTQ+ people overall are 6.7% not very motivated to vote, which means that they will be turning out to vote. Speaking of that,
LGBTQ+ people are registered and ready
Compared to the nearly 70% of US adults that are eligible and registered to vote, 95.7% of LGBTQ+ adults are registered to vote. There is barely a generational divide, as mentioned by the chart.
LGBTQ+ Americans are overwhelmingly registered regardless of age, a sign of strong support and engagement in the Democratic processes.
LGBTQ+ people overwhelmingly support Democrats
As a known key constituency for the Democratic Party, it is unsurprising that the LGBTQ+ community is overwhelmingly supportive of the Democratic ticket for the Presidency. 74% of LGBTQ+ Americans said they were leaning towards or were planning on voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, with the Republican ticket gaining only 7.5% of support. When only asking likely voters, the Democratic ticket went up to 77.2%. This overall makes sense, and LGBTQ+ people are taking action to support and work to turn out support for the Vice President. For example, Out for Harris-Walz, the official LGBTQ+ supporters' group for the campaign, had a kickoff event, which included Star Trek actor George Takei and LGBTQ+ government officials. The Trump campaign has had no LGBTQ+ outreach.
LGBTQ+ issues are huge, but they aren't the only key ones
While LGBTQ+ issues are obviously the top priority for queer voters in November, with over 51% of LGBTQ+ voters saying it was one of their top five driving policy issues, other major topics are also prevalent in why LGBTQ+ people are motivated to vote in this election. Abortion and reproductive justice (46.9%), the Supreme Court (32.7%), inflation and the economy (31.4%), and Project 2025 and the Republican plan for governance (27.1%) all were key issues for LGBTQ+ voters. In particular, the LGBTQ+ community has an extremely negative view of Project 2025. 92% of LGBTQ+ Americans have some knowledge on Project 2025, and over 87% of those people view this plan as very unfavorable.
So what are the takeaways? Primarily, LGBTQ+ voters are going to be engaged and turn out for Democratic candidates in the election, but a lot waits to be seen, especially how LGBTQ+ advocates support the Harris campaign.
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