Abortion rights inspire these young voters like no other issue. How they're fighting ahead of 2024.

Young voters will head to the ballot box next week with some of the nation's most urgent issues on their minds: climate change, gun safety and more.

But a group of young voters told USA TODAY abortion is the top issue driving them to the polls, even in this year's off-cycle election.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision guaranteeing abortion rights, the issue of abortion protections or restrictions returned to the states. And in the handful of local and state elections Tuesday, the issue is either explicitly on the ballot or a top campaign message.

Ohioans will vote on a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights up to viability, or around 24 weeks, with exceptions for the patient’s life or health. Just under 60% of voters in the state said they support the proposal, according to a USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University poll.

Support has also spread among college-age voters in Ohio, said Aveline Clark, a second-year student at the University of Akron.

“I've spoken to probably a couple hundred people on campus about this issue over the past month or so,” Clark, 20, said. “I can count on one hand how many people responded negatively.”

DeNora Getachew, CEO of DoSomething, a nonpartisan organization focused on youth activism, said she expects abortion to be top of mind for the next generation of voters in this and next year’s elections, even outside of Ohio.

“Young people really do feel like we're living in a moment where rights are being taken away from Americans and where our society is not inclusive of and respectful of all viewpoints and perspectives,” she said.

Choice and personal freedom: Why abortion is activating younger voters

Abra Lisowski, a 21-year-old student at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, began advocating for reproductive rights after she watched the Ohio abortion clinic where her mother worked cut services and staff in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision last year.

Those cuts included her mother.

Now a leader in her school's Ohio Student Association chapter, a grassroots organization for young Buckeye State voters, Lisowski said she struggled to get an appointment for contraceptives in the months after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Ohio's ballot measure this year includes language to protect access to contraception, a point Lisowski said is driving students to vote.

"Everyone might not need an abortion, but everyone probably could use contraception at some point," she said. "You just want to be able to continue to ensure that you would have access to that at any point."

The debate around abortion for voters her generation, Clark said, goes beyond one medical procedure and encompasses wider concerns about their own autonomy.

“People of my generation are very used to people in power telling them what to do, not giving them a reason for it and taking away their rights to choose about things,” they said. “There's a sentiment that we've kind of been born into a society that doesn't care about us and won't change its rules for us.”

Clark said her peers who have never had or physically cannot have an abortion still support access to the procedure because they’re thinking about other reproductive health decisions. Those include access to contraception and gender affirming care, including hormone replacement therapy.

“It can be very draining (and) disheartening to see the state of the political landscape, where rights are being taken away and choices are being limited,” Clark said. "So expanding choice and expanding personal freedom in really almost any way is something that really inspires a lot of young voters.”

Support for abortion protections on the right?

Ahead of Election Day, young voters also want the rest of the nation to known that the push to protect abortion rights isn't limited to one section of the political spectrum.

Sophia Aros serves as co-chair of the Fauquier County Young Republicans in northern Virginia and works with her county’s local GOP committee. Still, the 23 year old said she considers herself more of an independent and views some items on the Republican agenda as “a little out of date."

"I'm a woman. So obviously, I'm never going to vote on something that is going to hinder women's rights or a woman's ability to choose,” Aros said. “Everything has to be case by case. So I'm not going to say, ‘No, you can't have an abortion.’”

Reproductive rights have become a cornerstone of Democrats’ campaigns in Virginia, where every state Senate and House of Delegates seat is up for election this year. Candidates on the left have argued that a win for their opponents would pave the way for additional abortion restrictions in the state.

Meanwhile, Republican officials in Virginia have coalesced behind Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposal for a 15-week abortion ban, with exceptions for rape, incest and severe medical emergencies.

Conservatives Aros’ age are less on board, she said.

“This younger generation is understanding the importance of being able to have those rights because it goes farther than just abortion rights. It's bodily autonomy, it's your person, your body,” Aros said. “Why should they be able to say what you can and cannot do with it?”

In 2023, 48% of 18- to 29-year-old people believe abortion should be legal under any circumstances, according to Gallup. An additional 41% believe abortion should be legal under certain circumstances.

Among people over 50 in 2023, 56% believe abortion should be legal under certain circumstances, while 27% believe it should always be legal.

What role will abortion play in 2023 and beyond?

Ballot measures and the conversation surrounding abortion access this Election Day will cast a shadow heading into 2024's state and national races.

Ohio voters in August rejected a proposal that would have made passing the abortion ballot measure, or any other constitutional change, a more difficult process. The measure became a proxy battle for abortion rights in the state, and Clark said they believe that result is “a really good indicator” of what to expect next week.

Virginia’s electoral outcome is also set to be a bellwether, as the rest of the country waits to see which pitch wins in the southern state: Republicans’ self-described “common sense” compromise on abortion, or Democrats’ warnings that “a ban is a ban.”

Aros explained that, while many of her conservative peers are “very much with the Republican Party,” others, including herself, would like to see the GOP “modernize,” especially around the issue of abortion.

“If we were going to vote tomorrow with the current candidates that are on the ballot, I don't know that most young voters would be voting,” Aros said.

“We are younger, so we're seeing things at different angles, and we want there to be some more inclusion and diversity within the party,” she added.

Support for abortion rights at the state level has been a central component of the Democratic platform since Roe v. Wade's overturning last summer. And it played a major role in Democratic victories in the 2022 midterms.

But as the nation turns its eyes to 2024's race for the White House and other contests, 2023's elections in states such as Virginia and Ohio could loom large next year.

Clark said she expects Ohio’s ballot measure this year to be a turning point for progressives in the red-shifting swing state.

“It's not just playing on the defensive, it's not just preventing more bad things from happening. It's protecting our rights and really making a statement,” they said. “I think that this election for me is a really good chance to set the tone in Ohio”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Abortion rallies young voters before 2023 Election Day and 2024 races