Since the May primary, nearly 55,000 Hoosiers have registered to vote; however, more than half those new voters registered after the U.S Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

According to the Indiana Election Division, nearly 29,000 new Hoosier voters have registered since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs decision, which ruled abortion was no longer a guaranteed right in the U.S. Constitution and turned the decision back over to the states.

This could have a major impact on the upcoming midterm elections.

Most of the new registrations, nearly 45 percent,  are taking place in urban areas.

  • Allen – 1,559
  • Hamilton – 2,213
  • Lake – 2,589
  • Marion –  4,078
  • St. Joseph – 1,513
  • Tippecanoe – 1,086

So the question is should Republicans be worried?  It depends on who you ask.

 Lauren Ganapini, executive director for the Indiana Democratic Party 

  • “The Indiana Republican Party banned safe and legal abortions for Hoosiers, and voters are ready to hold them accountable for this shameful government overreach. Only a woman, her family, and her doctor should make these healthcare decisions – not politicians – and the uptick in voter registration is a welcoming sign ahead of a critical election year. Hoosiers want to see more balance in their state government, and Democrats implore voters to see that a vote for a Democrat is a vote to restore common-sense at the statehouse. That includes repealing the state’s ban on abortion, restoring a woman’s right to choose, and ending the Indiana GOP’s extremist agenda for good.” 

Kyle Hupfer, Indiana Republican Party Chairman

  • “It’s not surprising. As we travel the state, we are seeing intensity and excitement everywhere we go. Hoosiers are fired up to send a strong message that Indiana values life and that the agenda of Washington Democrats that has kept the country bouncing from one crisis to the next is unacceptable. It’s clear Indiana is ready to do its part to break the Democrat stranglehold on Washington, D.C.”

Dr. Laura Albright, University of Indianapolis.  

  • The numbers are a great sign for Democrats and, as angering as the Dobbs v. Jackson (2022) decision was for the left, it has been really effective at mobilizing voters in what looked like was going to be a very hard election cycle for the party given inflation and gas prices.  The counties where the numbers are highest though do tend to already be Democratic-leaning so this doesn’t signal a potential flip for any major races but rather illustrates a more likely stronger response with a greater gap between parties in those areas.  For a few vulnerable incumbents with competitive races or the open seats in the state legislature, we could see some change but again these numbers only suggest that it is possible, not a foregone conclusion.

Andrew Downs, Professor Emeritus, Purdue University Ft. Wayne

  • “Democrats should be happy about those numbers, but Republicans don’t have to be upset about them. 1. Even if all 29,000 new registrations were Democrats, that would not be enough votes to change the outcome of a statewide election in most years. 2. Even if all of the 16,000 new registrations in the counties listed were Democrats, the number is offset considerably by the 13,000 new registrations outside of those counties.  There is no doubt the new registration numbers are a good sign for the Democrats. What both parties need to remember is voters (newly and previously registered voters) have to be mobilized. That means having good candidates and the resources to inform voters about those good candidates.”