Study: Huge Number of Southern LGBTQ+ People Registered to Vote

Recent findings indicate Southern LGBTQ+ voters could make a significant impact on the 2020 election, with states like Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas in play.

The Campaign for Southern Equality and Western North Carolina Community Health Services released a report this week about LGBTQ+ Southerners' voting behaviors and beliefs. The survey queried over 5,600 participants across the South last year.

There are about 9 million LGBTQ+ voters in the U.S., according to the Williams Institute. Southern states hold about 37 percent of the U.S. population.

One of the key findings involved voter participation and enthusiasm. Nearly 92 percent of those who participated in the study were registered to vote. Those numbers are significantly higher than that of the general U.S. population, with about 79 percent registered.

Researchers also asked participants about their experience with physical or emotional abuse and found that those with a history of such trauma were less likely to be registered than those who did not.

Transgender people and those with lower incomes were also less likely to be registered than cisgender people and those with more money.