LGBTQ+ Voters Fast-Growing Bloc, Will Transform Electoral Landscape
LGBTQ+ Americans are poised to become one of the fastest-growing voting blocs in the nation, transforming the political landscape, according to a report released Thursday by the Human Rights Campaign and Bowling Green State University.The report, “Equality Electorate: The Projected Growth of the LGBTQ+ Voting Bloc in Coming Years,” predicts that by 2030 approximately one in seven voters will be LGBTQ+, up from the current one in 10, and the proportion will near one in five by 2040.The vast majority of LGBTQ+ adults are registered to vote, and most vote Democratic, so they will make Democratic, or “blue,” areas bluer and push “red” Republican areas into “purple,” or swing territory, notes the report, which is based on new analysis of publicly available data.
Without the LGBTQ+ vote, Joe Biden would likely have lost the 2020 presidential election to Donald Trump, as this vote proved key in swing states.That election saw the largest proportion of LGBTQ+ voters since exit polls began asking about this identification in 1992.
The proportion of LGBTQ+ people among the voting-eligible population was 10.8 percent in 2020, and it now stands at 11.3 percent, according to the report.
It projects that will grow to 14.3% by 2030 and 17.8 percent by 2040. States where the proportion is likely to nearly double include Georgia, Texas, Ohio, and Arizona.A major reason for the increase in LGBTQ+ identification is that people are coming out at ever-younger ages.
