Virginia would vote yes, overwhelmingly, to back a state law codifying the reproductive freedoms that had been enshrined in Roe v. Wade before being overturned in the Dobbs decision in 2022.
This was among the findings from a new Commonwealth Poll from the Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at VCU, showing again how Virginia leans left of center on the major policy issues of the day.
Commonwealth Poll participants were asked whether they would vote for or against a similar measure in Virginia if one were introduced. The majority (57 percent) said they would vote yes in such a referendum, and 24 percent said they would vote no.
So, Virginia Dems, now that you have control of both the House of Delegates and State Senate, you know, go ahead and get a measure on the ballot already.
Ohio, of all places, voted in November to approve a state constitutional amendment giving women the right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions.
The ballot measure in red-leaning Ohio did not allow the state to restrict abortion after fetal viability, except when “necessary to protect the pregnant patient’s life or health.”
Seems like we have a blueprint there.
Poll respondents were also asked whether parents should be allowed to object to the presence of any book in a public school’s library and have that book removed. Nearly 7 in 10 Virginians disagreed (66 perecnt), with just 32 percent agreeing.
Responses were split primarily by political party, with only 11 percent of Democrats agreeing that parents should be able to object to a book’s presence, compared with 55 percent of Republicans and 23 percent of independents.
Just over half of Virginians (55 percent) think that Virginia lawmakers should legalize the retail sale of marijuana in Virginia, while 38 percent disagreed. Opinions varied significantly by political affiliation — 76 percent of Democrats favor legalization of marijuana sales, compared with 39 percent of Republicans and 46 percent of independents.
One area where we’re still on the wrong side on an issue: trans rights.
Only 3 in 10 respondents (actually, 34 percent) feel transgender students should be allowed to use bathrooms corresponding with a different gender than their birth sex, and just 26 percent feel that trans students should be allowed to participate with a sports team corresponding with a different gender than their birth sex.
Still work to do on those points, obviously.
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Chris Graham
