Exit Poll: LGBTQ Voters, Allies Helped Elect Joe Biden
New Human Rights Campaign report shows queer voters gave Democrat a key boost
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Findings from a Human
Rights Campaign (HRC)
report published December
22 show LGBTQ
people and equality voters in swing
states overwhelmingly supported
President-Elect Joe Biden at the
polls.
HRC and Greenberg Quinlan
Rosner Research, a Democratic
polling fi rm, conducted a survey of
1,400 voters from across the US —
with an oversample of voters from
Sun Belt states of Florida, Texas,
Arizona, and Georgia. The results
reveal that the LGBTQ community
and equality voters — people who
value LGBTQ issues at the polls —
played a signifi cant role in Biden’s
victory, helping him secure 81 million
votes.
According to the poll, 83 percent
of LGBTQ voters supported Biden.
That number more accurately refl
ected the historic patterns of
queer voters in presidential elections,
the survey notes, compared
to a separate exit poll conducted
by the Associated Press that found
Biden only won 73 percent of LGBTQ
voters.
“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,” Alphonso
David, president of the Human
Rights Campaign, said in a
written statement.
Notably, voters said the top reason
they supported Biden was
because they believed he would
do a better job confronting the
coronavirus pandemic. Forty-fi ve
percent of voters listed that reason,
followed by 39 percent who
said they voted for Biden because
they believed he would stand up
for immigrants, people of color,
LGBTQ folks, and others targeted
by Trump.
Biden voters also sought improvements
in healthcare, protections
for people with pre-existing
conditions, and stronger leadership
A new report from the Human Rights Campaign reveals that LGBTQ and equality voters played a major
role in electing president Joe Biden.
during the pandemic.
Studies indicate that the pandemic
is deepening gaps in inequity.
LGBTQ people — especially
Black queer people — are facing
the brunt of unemployment
as well as losses in healthcare
coverage, according to a report
released December 16 from the
Movement Advancement Project
(MAP), a non-profi t policy think
tank serving the queer community.
On the other hand, LGBTQ
voters opposed former president
Donald Trump because of his racist
attacks, mismanagement of
the coronavirus pandemic, and
lengthy anti-LGBTQ record.
The Trump administration has
rolled out numerous anti-LGBTQ
policies over the course of four years
in offi ce, including banning trans
folks from the military, scrapping
Obama-era guidance protecting
trans students in schools, launching
attacks on same-sex parents
seeking to adopt, chipping away
at LGBTQ health protections, and
more.
The fi ndings also highlight that
protecting LGBTQ people as well as
the passage of the Equality Act, a
federal bill prohibiting discrimination
against LGBTQ people in public
life, remains a priority among
many voters.
Support for these issues have
steadily garnered more support
REUTERS/ LEAH MILLIS
since 2018, the report shows
According to the poll, 70 percent
of people voting in the 2020
presidential election supported
the Equality Act, with 53 percent
POLITICS
strongly supporting the bill
— a slight increase in two years.
The number of people opposing
the legislation is also decreasing.
About 21 percent of voters
are against the legislation, with
15 percent strongly opposing the
bill.
Trump also worked together
with Republican Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell to stack
federal courts with anti-equality
judges.
Most recently, he moved ahead
with a new rule — slated to take
effect January 11 — that could
make it more diffi cult for LGBTQ
and HIV-positive asylum seekers
to enter the US.
“This election truly was a referendum
on Trump and Trump’s
record on equality issues leads
the list of problems voters had
with this President,” the report
noted.
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