A Tennessee Lawmaker Helped Pass a Strict Abortion Law. He’s Now Trying To Loosen It

Katia Riddle at NPR reports that in 2019, Republican State Sen. Richard Briggs (TN) co-sponsored some of the most stringent abortion legislation in the country, assuming the bill would never become law. The fall of Roe, however, triggered the Tennessee state law, issuing a near-total ban on abortion that included penalties for doctors up to 15 years in prison. Briggs, who was a former trauma surgeon in the Army, is now working to file a bill that would give doctors more authority to terminate nonviable pregnancies. PRRI research finds 74% of Americans oppose laws that make it a felony crime to perform an abortion.

Why Most GOP Women Are Standing by Their Man

Errin Haines at The 19th News reports that although former president Donald Trump was found liable for both sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll, his base — including a majority of GOP women — have not faltered in their support. PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman, Ph.D., told The 19th: “The reality is Republican women are Republican for a reason — they strongly support those policies and are willing to overlook this.” Haines points out that prominent Republican women, like RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, are among Trump’s most stalwart supporters. Even after the defamation case, 51% of women voters in New Hampshire’s Republican primary supported Trump over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Republican Lawsuits Challenge Mail Ballot Deadlines. Could They Upend Voting Across the Country?

For the Associated Press, Christine Fernando, Emily Wagster Pettus, and Jack Dura report that Republican challenges to extended mail ballot deadlines in South Dakota and Mississippi could have wider implications for voting in this year’s presidential election. The cases argue that allowing absentee ballots to be counted beyond Election Day improperly extends the federal election beyond the date set by Congress and could potentially lead to a nationwide injunction against the practice. The 2022 American ValuesSurvey found that Americans are divided on what the bigger problem is when it comes to voting: 85% of Republicans said ineligible people casting votes is the bigger problem vs. 83% of Democrats who said it is eligible voters being denied the right to vote.

The Power of Diverse Networks Among Young Americans

In a new Spotlight Analysis, PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman, Ph.D. explores the link between racially diverse social networks and the views of younger white Americans on race. Data from PRRI’s new Gen Z Survey and the 2022 American Bubbles Survey finds that with roughly 1 in 2 Gen Zers identifying as non-white, white Americans aged 18-29 are more than ten percentage points more likely than older white Americans to have racially diverse friendship networks. Deckman notes that having at least one non-white friend influences younger Americans’ attitudes; 71% of  white Americans 18-29 with at least one non-white friend say they prefer the U.S. to be a diverse country, compared with 58% among those whose social networks are entirely white.