RENO, Nevada – A vote to enshrine Nevada’s abortion rights in the state constitution has met all the requirements to appear before voters in November, the Nevada Secretary of State’s office announced Friday, and Democrats across the country hope measures similar organizations mobilize supporters on election day.
They made the right to abortion a central message since the US Supreme Court struck down Roe v., the landmark 1973 court decision establishing the national right to abortion. Nevada voters in 1990 made abortion legal up to 24 weeks, but a state law is easier to pass and more vulnerable to change than constitutional protection organizers intend.
Voters must approve the ballot question in 2024 and 2026 to change the state constitution.
Nevada County officials approved the required number of signatures from Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, the political action committee that organized the ballot initiative. The Nevada Secretary of State’s office certified those totals, according to a memo sent to organizers Friday.
Several Republican-controlled states have tightened abortion restrictions or imposed outright bans. Fourteen states prohibit abortion at all stages of pregnancy, while 25 allow abortion up to 24 weeks or later, with limited exceptions.
Most states with Democratic legislatures have laws or executive orders that protect access. Voters in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont supported abortion rights advocates in electoral measures. Abortion rights advocates have qualified measures for a vote in Colorado and South Dakotaand Nevada was among nine other states where signature campaigns were underway.
Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom Announced last month that they submitted over 200,000 signatures. Proponents needed 102,000 valid signatures by June 26 to qualify for the ballot, and just under 128,000 were considered valid.
The organization held a press conference on Monday, which marked two years after the Dobbs v. Board of Education decision. Jackson had overturned the national right to abortion, to promote the petition and release a letter signed by medical professionals in support.
“We can’t take anything for granted in a post-Dobbs world and that’s why we’re really doubling down on the protections we currently have in place,” said Lindsey Harmon, the group’s president.
Anti-abortion group Nevada Right to Life spokeswoman Krystal Minera-Alvis said in a statement that the proposed amendment is “based on lies” and is funded by “out-of-state dark money,” and described the ballot issue as misleading, given that abortion rights are already codified in state law.
“As an organization, we remain steadfast in the fact that this change is unsafe and dangerous for women of all ages,” Minera-Alvis said in the statement.
Separately, Republican organizers said they submitted nearly 180,000 signatures to get a measure on the November ballot that would amend the state constitution to require voters to present photo identification at the polls, said David Gibbs of the Repair the Vote political action committee. If counties verify just over 100,000 signatures, voters would also have to approve the change in 2024 and 2026 for it to take effect.
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