Voters Who Prioritize LGBT Issues Jumped 8% In Two Years, HRC Poll

According to a recent poll, voters who prioritize LGBT issues at the ballot box increased significantly in the last two years.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, commissioned Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research to conduct the survey. The poll included 1,400 general election voters and has a margin of error of +/- 2.83%.

Voters who prioritize LGBT issues at the ballot box, referred to as equality voters by HRC, increased from 29% in the 2018 midterm elections to 37% in 2020.

HRC President Alphonso David said that politicians should take notice of the trend.

“Over the last three elections, the share of LGBTQ voters and Equality Voters has continued to increase, solidifying our community and our allies as a key rising constituency that can make or break a politician’s success,” David said. “Our issues matter, our votes matter and politicians around the country have taken notice. This development did not occur in a single cycle, but rather through sustained efforts by the Human Rights Campaign to identify and improve turnout amongst these groups. Now with pro-equality control restored in the White House, the future of our community and our movement is bright.”

When asked for their most important reason to support President-elect Joe Biden, 39 percent of respondents agreed that “Joe Biden will stand up for immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ people and others targeted by [President Donald] Trump.” A larger share of respondents (45%) said that Biden would do a better job with the coronavirus pandemic.

“Among Biden voters, equality issues rank second as the leading reason to support the president-elect and are the number one issue motivating voters to oppose Donald Trump,” HRC wrote in announcing its findings. “At the same time, attacks on the LGBTQ community had little impact. Anti-LGBTQ operatives launched aggressive attacks on the transgender community, alleging falsely that Biden supports gender confirmation surgeries for children. That issue ranks dead last as a reason to oppose Joe Biden.”

Among equality voters, 79 percent supported Biden, while only 19 percent supported Trump.

Support for the Equality Act, a federal LGBT protections bill that Biden has vowed to prioritize, has also increased. Seventy percent of general election respondents either strongly or somewhat support the bill, a 5 percent increase in the last two years.