Gender is going to be a huge factor in this election. Here’s what the data shows | Celinda Lake and Cate Gormley

Younger women are registering to vote at record rates - and tell pollsters that abortion rights are a crucial voting concern

The election for president ends in under a month, and voters in states across the country have begun casting early ballots. As we face what is shaping up to be the third presidential election that will come down to just tens of thousands of votes across a handful of key states, female voters, their concerns, and their judgments of the candidates will be decisive in the election.

Polling shows that the gender gap, which we have seen in every presidential election since 1980, is at a record high. The gender gap, defined as the difference between the vote margin among women and the vote margin among men between Democrats and Republicans, is the key to success for Kamala Harris and other Democrats - they need to win women by more than they lose men.

Celinda Lake is the president of Lake Research Partners

Cate Gormley is the vice-president of Lake Research Partners