Illinois Voters Head to Polls for 2022 Primary

PALOS HILLS, Ill.—Four days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the impact of that far-reaching decision is already palpable at a primary day polling site just southwest of Chicago.

Alice Mister, a resident of Palos Hills, told The Epoch Times that abortion is now her top concern and that she thinks more people will be energized around this issue throughout the midterm election cycle.

“We have had it for over 50 years and now they just took it away. I believe a woman should be able to decide what they are going to do with their body,” Mister told The Epoch Times.

Alice Mister stands outside of a polling site in Palos Hills, Ill., on June 28, 2022. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

She planned to vote for Marie Newman, a Democratic candidate running to represent Illinois’s 6th congressional district, which encompasses Palos Hills.

Newman, the incumbent of the nearby 3rd district, was moved out of her district after Illinois lawmakers redrew the map last year. She chose to run for reelection in the 6th district instead, facing two-term House Rep. Sean Casten—the only primary fight among incumbent Democratic House members in the state.

Both incumbents support abortion and are endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and NARAL Pro-Choice America.

The 6th district is a competitive congressional seat considered winnable by Republicans in a midterm year when the president’s party typically loses ground. Of the 40 midterms held since the Civil War, the president’s party lost House seats in 37 of them.

Veronica Khachatryan stands outside of a polling site in Palos Hills, Ill., on June 28, 2022. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

For Veronica Khachatryan, abortion is also her top issue, and it is an issue that she thinks will energize people on both sides.

Khachatryan is of Armenian descent,

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