The Rise of the Anti-Abortion Movement in North Dakota and the Defeat of the 1972 Initiative to Liberalize State Abortion Laws

Abstract

The 1972 abortion-initiative campaign in North Dakota provides an example where elites on one side of an issue were able to provide cues and get supporters to participate in an election while the other side was unable to do so. North Dakota Right to Life through the formation of branch chapters and its work with the Catholic churches became the focus of the anti-initiative campaign. Flush with resources, the NDRL made sure that its supporters turned out to such an extent that initiative voters outnumbered presidential voters in most counties. While the pro-initiative elements proved effective at getting the question on the ballot, they were unable to get their message out, let alone galvanize supporters. The result was confusion among potential supports and lower turnout rates in the most populous counties.

The Political Ramifications of Judicial Institutions: Establishing a Link between Dobbs and Gender Disparities in the 2022 Midterms

“…Salient issues cause mobilization (Biggers 2011; Childers and Binder 2012; Dyck and Seabrook 2010). Historically, abortion has been a salient issue that has led to voter mobilization in various election cycles (Bauroth 2021; Biggers 2011; Hillygus and Shields 2005; Langer and Cohen 2005). Thus, we anticipate that a radical change in an already salient, controversial issue for the party will mobilize Democratic voters more than Republicans.…”