GLAAD has released their 2022 LGBTQ Voter Pulse Poll, which gauges and tracks motivation, enthusiasm, and issues ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
According to the poll, 83 percent of LGBTQ likely voters said they would probably or vote in the midterm election this November. Compared to the 2020 presidential election, 48 percent said they were more motivated to vote in this upcoming election.
When it comes to the issues most important to LGBTQ voters, COVID-19 response topped the list. 32 percent of all polled selected it as one of the most important issues that candidates for office must address in 2022.
This could be due to the impact COVID-19 had on the LGBTQ community. 46 percent of those polled said they experienced increased mental health issues due to COVID-19 (particularly among 18–24-year-olds at 64 percent), 27 percent increased their personal debt to make ends meet, 23 percent tested positive for COVID, and 23 percent reported they had a close friend or family member die due to COVID-19.
Among other important issues to LGBTQ voters is jobs and the economy (28 percent), healthcare (25 percent), the environment (23 percent), inflation (19 percent), racial justice (18 percent), voting rights (15 percent), and LGBTQ equality (11 percent).
“GLAAD’s snapshot poll shows what LGBTQ voters have endured in the COVID-19 crisis, and they revealed their top priorities for the midterm elections including jobs, climate, racial justice, and health care,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “The LGBTQ community’s issues are deeply connected to the greater struggles for equality and equity across American society. We are a part of every family, community, and neighborhood. LGBTQ people and our allies must unite as a powerful voting bloc for positive change and to act as a bulwark against those who oppose our rights. LGBTQ voters were critical to the victories of pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot in 2020. We must continue to ensure LGBTQ voices and voters are heard in 2022.”
LGBTQ voters, especially in Georgia, had significant sway over the 2020 presidential election. According to an analysis by LGBTQ Nation, Donald Trump may have won reelection if LGBTQ voters in Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin hadn’t cast their votes for Joe Biden. Without the levels of LGBTQ voter turnout seen in the general election, LGBTQ Nation found that Georgia never would’ve flipped blue; among non-LGBTQ voters, 2,334,801 voted for Biden and 2,438,721 voted for Trump, leaving Trump to win the state. However, with an additional 140,340 LGBTQ voters voting for Biden and 24,136 for Trump, Biden took Georgia with a total of 2,475,141 votes against Trump’s 2,462,857.