STORIES FROM THE FIELD: With One Week Until Election Day, North Carolina Voters Are Motivated to Protect Abortion Access 

With just one week until Election Day and early voting already underway, millions of North Carolinians are casting their ballots for candidates who will protect the future of abortion in their state and across the nation.

Planned Parenthood advocacy and political organizations are on the ground engaging with voters in North Carolina as part of their 2022 electoral program, “Take Control,” the groups’ largest-ever investment in an electoral cycle. Canvassers are hard at work across the Tar Heel state to ensure that voters know when, where, and how to vote this year — including by mail, early in-person, and at the polls on Tuesday, November 8 — and which candidates will support their reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy.

As evidenced by poll after poll, abortion is a key motivating issue for voters in this election. But don’t just take our word for it — read on to hear what voters in North Carolina are telling Planned Parenthood Votes and Planned Parenthood Action PAC North Carolina canvassers across the state:

• One canvasser bonded with a voter in Charlotte because they both had more than five children and understood how much of a personal decision it is to build a family.
• Another Charlotte voter was watching President Biden speak on TV when a canvasser knocked on the door. She said she was “riled up” and ready to vote.
• One voter shared that her niece had to cross state lines to get an abortion and that she feels she should be able to do what she wants with her body.
• A Raleigh voter expressed gratitude for Planned Parenthood advocacy and political organizations’ work in the field, but also for the care and support she received from a Planned Parenthood health center as a young mother.
• A 71-year-old woman told a phone-banker that she fought for abortion rights “the first go-around” and pledged to vote, expressing fear over the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
• Many voters were excited to learn they could vote for North Carolina Supreme Court justices and didn’t know that was even an option at the state level.
• An older man said he was “utterly disgusted” by the overturning of Roe v. Wade and took literature to share with his family.
• One voter pledged to support all reproductive rights champions on the ballot and talked with the phone-banker on speakerphone so her husband could learn about the candidates, too.
• Another voter called her son down to listen to the phone-banker with her and was relieved when he confirmed he supported reproductive freedom and would vote for abortion rights candidates.

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Planned Parenthood Votes is an independent expenditure political committee registered with the Federal Election Commission.

Planned Parenthood Action PAC North Carolina is an independent expenditure political action committee registered with the North Carolina State Board of Elections. 

Advocacy for/against federal candidates paid for by Planned Parenthood Votes, 123 William St, NY NY 10038. Advocacy for/against North Carolina state-level candidates paid for by Planned Parenthood Action PAC NC. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.