Elections for Governor and Legislative Control in Ohio and Virginia Include Abortion Measures
Off-year elections took place on Tuesday to decide governors in Kentucky and Mississippi, as well as the fate of abortion and marijuana amendments in Ohio, legislative control in Virginia, and mayoral races in two of the nation’s biggest cities. Here are some highlights from the elections across the country:
– The Kentucky governor’s race is nearing the finish line after a hard-fought campaign.
– Mississippi voters are deciding whether to replace the GOP governor with Elvis’ cousin.
– Virginia’s governor has called the state’s legislative races the ‘most important elections in America’.
– Ohio voters are deciding whether to enshrine abortion rights in their state’s constitution.
– Less than two weeks after a tragic shooting that killed 18 people in a small New England city, residents cast ballots for municipal races in a more subdued and somber tone.
Some technical issues were reported in Kentucky and Mississippi early in the day, as state election websites experienced slow loading times and other glitches due to increased traffic. These issues were quickly resolved.
Voters had different issues on their minds as they went to vote. In Kentucky, voters expressed their opinions on abortion, with one voter believing it is a woman’s right to choose, while another voter expressed the need for a change at the top of state government.
In Ohio, voters weighed in on a constitutional amendment guaranteeing an individual right to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care. Some voters supported the amendment, citing the importance of choice, while others opposed it on moral grounds, quoting religious beliefs.
Music icon Taylor Swift urged her fans in several states to head to the polls on Election Day, encouraging them to use their voice and directing them to a nonpartisan voter advocacy group. This resulted in nearly 40,000 people registering to vote on the organization’s website.
These off-year elections could give hints of voter sentiment ahead of next year’s presidential contest, with Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear hoping his support of abortion rights will persuade voters in his Republican-leaning state to give him another term in office, and Virginia’s election determining party control of the state legislature.
