Looking in the rearview mirror, it appears that Election Day 2020 led to a series of verdicts, but with many questions unanswered. While a few insist that the presidency remains in the balance, there were a series of changes and trends that emerged as a result of 2020 voting.

Control of the U.S. Senate, to the surprise of many, still appears to be up for grabs. while Republicans managed to gain ground in the House of Representatives, to the shock of the Democratic Party majority.

President Donald Trump did a lot better than the pre-election polls, but, in many states, did not capture as many votes as down-ballot Republicans. The president, and a small number of his supporters, continue to argue that judges may rule that ballot fraud will overturn or weaken Democrat Joe Biden’s narrow victory at the polls.

As a result of this confusion, details regarding some voting trends — particularly from faith voters — were slow to trickle in given that so many mail-in ballots were used as a result of the pandemic. Here is a summary of some of what we have learned, so far, about the impact of religious issues and voters in the 2020 election:

Catholic vote makes a difference, but for whom?

The Catholic vote mattered once again in this election cycle. Biden, who is poised to become first Catholic president since 1960, spent the past few months courting faith voters. Trump, in turn, also pursued the Catholic vote in swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The Catholic vote usually decides the Presidential election. This year the exit polls for Catholics all have @JoeBiden under water. This is curious given @realDonaldTrump's vote count in the rust belt. 
New York Times: Trump 68%
AP: Trump 46%
NBC: Trump 66% pic.twitter.com/whJyYlldZU

— Raymond Arroyo (@RaymondArroyo) November 4, 2020

The Catholic vote, according to The Associated Press, seems to be evenly split — 49% going for Trump and 49% for Biden. NBC News, however, offered contradictory numbers — 37% of Catholics voting for Biden and a whopping 62% for Trump.

An EWTN News/RealClear Opinion Research poll from last month found Catholics favoring Biden by a 12-point margin (53% to 41%) over Trump. As expected, the president did better with Catholics who regularly attend Mass.

Louisiana votes to limit abortions; Colorado goes the other way

The national races affected local politics as well, where faith voters played an important role depending on geography. It should also be no surprise that abortion was an important issue.

Voters in Louisiana, for example, approved a constitutional amendment to prevent state courts from finding a “right to abortion” — that is public funding of abortion — in the state’s constitution. It helps to know that Louisiana is a state in which pro-life Democrats remain a strong presence in state politics.

Louisiana’s Amendment 1 passed with a 64% margin, Catholic News Agency reported, and will result in the updating of the Louisiana constitution to say that “nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”

In Colorado, a state with a strong libertarian streak, 59% of voters defeated a proposal to ban late-term abortion starting at 22 weeks.

Washington approves requiring sex ed — starting in kindergarten

Despite staunch opposition from Catholic bishops, Washington state’s politically progressive voters — a majority of whom backed Biden — passed a ballot measure by nearly 60% calling for “comprehensive sex education” in public schools.

In their effort to thwart the measure, the state’s Catholic bishops cited the Second Vatican Council document Gaudium et Spes, which calls for the right of parents to “educate their children in the bosom of the family.”

At least 29 states require public schools to teach sex education, but the National Conference of State Legislatures said the issue had never before appeared on a statewide ballot, a move that ultimately backfired on conservative Christians. The measure’s passing was further proof of the declining influence of faith voters in blue states.

CONTINUE READING “5 Things We Learned About Faith Voters This Election Cycle,” by Clemente Lisi at Religion Unplugged.