Unprecedented voter turnout
Tuesday’s turnout surpassed the state’s most recent August election by about fivefold. More than 3 million voters cast a ballot in the election — that’s compared with the 638,708 people who showed up to vote in the Aug. 8, 2022, primary election.
It vastly surpassed other recent primary elections: About 1.7 million people voted in the May 2022 primary, about 1.8 million people voted in the March 2020 primary, and about 1.7 million people voted in the May 2018 primary.
With the defeat of the Aug. 8 initiative, pro-abortion advocates will only need to obtain a simple majority of the vote rather than reach the 60% threshold that would have otherwise been required if voters had approved Issue 1.
Motivated single-interest groups
Other issues were at stake in the election that may have contributed to the high turnout. An initiative to increase the minimum wage via a constitutional amendment could be on the November ballot if petitioners get enough signatures. Supporters of gun control, environmentalist groups, and unions, who don’t have much sway in the Republican-controlled Legislature, also fought to keep the simple majority intact.