With Friday’s announcement in Nevada that voters will decide a November ballot question on whether to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution, five states now have abortion issues set for referendums this year. And more people could join them.
The US Supreme Court removed the national right to abortion with a 2022 decision, which generated a national push to have voters decide.
Since the ruling, most Republican-controlled states have new abortion restrictions in place, including 14 that ban it at all stages of pregnancy. Most Democratic-led states have laws or executive orders to protect access.
Voters in all seven states that have had abortion questions before voters since 2022 — California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont — sided with abortion rights advocates.
What’s on the 2024 ballot?
COLORADO
Colorado’s top election official confirmed in May that a measure to enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution, including requirements that Medicaid and private health insurers cover it, was on the ballot for the fall election.
Supporters said they had gathered more than 225,000 signatures, nearly double the requirement of more than 124,000 signatures.
Amending the state constitution requires the support of 55% of voters.
Those who supported a controversial measure — a bill to ban abortion — have not turned in signatures and the measure will not be presented to voters.
Abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy in Colorado.
FLORIDA
The state Supreme Court ruled in April that a ballot measure to legalize abortion until viability could be voted on, despite a legal challenge from state Attorney General Ashley Moody, who argued there are differing opinions on the meaning of “viability.” and that some key issues the terms of the proposed measure are not properly defined.
Defenders collected nearly one million signatures to put a state constitutional amendment to the vote to legalize abortion until viability, exceeding the nearly 892,000 needed.
Sixty percent of voters would have to agree for it to take effect.
Abortion is currently illegal in Florida after the first six weeks of pregnancy under a law which came into force on May 1st.
MARILANDIA
Maryland voters will also be asked this year to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution. The state already protects the right to abortion under state law and Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1. Abortion is allowed in Maryland until viability.
NEVADA
The Nevada Secretary of State’s office announced Friday that a ballot question to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution has met all requirements to appear before voters in November.
Under the amendment, access to abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy – or later to protect the health of the pregnant person – would be enshrined. This access is already guaranteed by a 1990 law.
To change the constitution, voters would need to approve it in 2024 and 2026.
SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota voters decide this fall on a measure that would prohibit any restrictions on abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. It would allow the State, in the second trimester, “to regulate the pregnant woman’s abortion decision and its execution only in ways that are reasonably related to the pregnant woman’s physical health.” A ban on abortion would be allowed in the third trimester, as long as it included exceptions for the life and health of the woman.
The state’s top electoral authority announced on May 16 that about 85% of the state’s population more than 55,000 signatures sent in support of the electoral initiative are valid, exceeding the required 35,017 signatures.
Opponents sued to try to take the initiative off the ballot.
What’s on the ballot in New York?
While not explicitly preserving the right to abortion, a reproductive rights issue is on the ballot in New York. The measure would be bar discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes” and “reproductive health care,” along with sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and disability. Currently, abortion is allowed in New York until fetal viability.
The issue was on the ballot and was removed in May by a judge who concluded Lawmakers missed a procedural step when they put it there. One appeals court reinstated it in June.
Where else could abortion be on the ballot in 2024?
ARIZONA
A signature campaign is underway to add a constitutional right to abortion in Arizona. Under the measure, the State could not prohibit abortion until the fetus was viable, with later abortions being permitted to protect the woman’s physical or mental health. Supporters must gather around 384,000 valid signatures by July 4th.
Abortion is currently legal during the first 15 weeks of pregnancy in Arizona. An Arizona Supreme Court ruling in April said enforcement could begin soon for a near-total ban that was already in effect. Since then, the governor has signed a bill repeal this law. However, it is still expected to be in effect for a while.
ARKANSAS
Proponents of an amendment to allow abortion in many cases must gather about 91,000 signatures by July 5 for it to be approved on the November 5 vote. The measure would bar laws that prohibit abortion in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and allow abortion later in pregnancy in cases of rape, incest, threats to the woman’s health or life, or if the fetus is unlikely to survive birth. Because it allows a ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the proposal does not have the support of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which includes Arkansas. The state currently prohibits abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with minor exceptions.
MISSOURI
Abortion rights advocates in Missouri turned in more than 380,000 signatures — more than double the 171,000 required — for a measure asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment to guarantee abortion until viability. Local election officials have until July 30 to verify the signatures, then it is up to the Secretary of State to declare whether they were sufficient.
A group of moderate Republicans this year abandoned efforts to an alternative amendment this would have allowed abortion up to 12 weeks, with limited exceptions after that.
Abortion is currently prohibited in Missouri at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions.
MONTANA
Abortion rights advocates in Montana have proposed a constitutional amendment that would prevent the government from denying the right to an abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person.
After a legal battle over the ballot text, the Montana Supreme Court in April wrote its version of the text that would appear on the ballot if a sufficient number of valid signatures were certified. Sponsors were required to send around 60,000 by June 21st. They delivered almost twice as many – about 17,000. Counties have until July 19 to verify them, and the secretary of state would have until Aug. 22 to determine whether the document will be voted on.
Abortion is legal until feasible in Montana, according to a 1999 Montana Supreme Court opinion.
NEBRASKA
Defenders are trying to collect About 125,000 signatures needed by July 5 to present a constitutional amendment to voters to protect the right to abortion up to fetal viability. A competing petition effort would add a constitutional amendment that mirrors a law passed last year that prohibits abortion after 12 weekswith some exceptions.
Where have electoral efforts failed to gain traction?
Some efforts that sought to restrict or ban abortion also failed to reach the ballot box. In Wisconsin, the House passed a measure asking voters to ban abortion after 14 weeksbut the legislative session ended without a vote by the state Senate.
Similarly, Iowa lawmakers ended the session without passing a measure that asked voters to conclude that there is no constitutional right to abortion. Pennsylvania lawmakers had previously pursued a similar amendment, but it is not expected to be included on the ballot this year.
A Louisiana measurement to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution died in committee, one in Maine effectively died when it failed to receive approval from two-thirds of the House and one Minnesota measure did not pass by legislators as well.
