Voter registration among women is up, Utah not tracking

SALT LAKE CITY – Voter registrations among women have risen in several states in the wake of the Roe v. Wade decision last June. However, Utah law does not require voters to provide gender on voter registration forms.

The Lt. Governor’s office said the information is not pertinent in deciding if one is eligible to vote, stating, “Voter registration data in Utah is streamlined and meets the basic requirements for election administration and oversight.”

But the founder of the research group Utah Women and Leadership Project, Dr. Susan Madsen, said men and women are often motivated by different policy issues.

“When you track voter registration, if you understand the gender then you can track what things are happening in life and the community, in the news and the reaction,” said Madsen

The New York Times reported some of the states with the biggest registration upticks among women after Roe v. Wade was overturned were conservative states such as Kansas and Louisiana. 

Related reading:

• SLC students hold walkouts in response to Roe v. Wade
• Utah Legislature sued over allegedly unconstitutional gerrymandering
• Utah women’s reproductive-health doctor weighs in on Roe v. Wade ruling