Results from the first presidential election since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs decision are already pouring in. So far, Florida voters rejected a measure that would have overturned the state's six-week abortion ban, becoming the first state to vote against a reproductive rights measure since Dobbs. While 57.4% of Florida voters approved of Amendment 4, the ballot question needed a 60 percent supermajority to pass, according to The Hill.
Meanwhile, Missouri, Colorado, New York and Maryland passed their respective abortion rights measures. Missouri currently has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country, but Amendment 3, which passed with 53.5% of the vote, will enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution. Colorado's Amendment 79 will also make abortion a constitutional right in the state while lifting a 40-year-old state ban on using government funds for the procedure. Arizona became the third state of the evening to enshrine abortion rights in its state constitution, overturning a law that banned abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy with 62.9% of the vote.
Maryland voters decided on Question 1 in favor of an amendment that confirms an individual's fundamental right to reproductive freedom by adding a new article to the state constitution's Declaration of Rights, with 74% in favor. While New York's Proposal 1 isn't explicitly an abortion measure, it will protect “against unequal treatment based on reproductive health care and autonomy.” 72% of voters agreed with it.
Whoever wins the presidency will determine how accessible abortion and reproductive care is in this country. Since Dobbs, many states nationwide have moved to greatly restrict abortion access. According to an abortion policy tracker from KFF, 13 states have banned access to abortion, six states have gestational limits between 6 and 12 weeks from a pregnant woman’s last menstrual period, and five states have a gestational limit between 15 and 22 weeks. The consequences have been devastating, life-threatening, and even fatal.
Now, as the country prepares for more battles between pro-abortion legislators and reproductive rights access, 10 states in the U.S. — Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota — are asking voters where they stand on reproductive rights. All the measures would enshrine rights in the state constitution to prohibit state legislators from interfering with reproductive care. The attention paid to the ballot measure is unparalleled compared to previous elections.
“Abortion-related ballot measures are on the ballot in an unprecedented ten states this fall,” said Kelly Hall of the Fairness Project, in a media statement. “What these ballot measures are about is small d democracy: putting the power to make decisions about fundamental rights straight into the hands of voters.”
Here’s everything you need to know about these measures.
Arizona: Amendment Proposition 139
Results: PASS 62.9% YES / 37.1% NO
A yes vote supports amending the state constitution to provide a fundamental right to abortion by guaranteeing that the state of Arizona may not interfere with abortion care before the point of fetal viability. The measure would allow abortion after fetal viability to be accessible in cases to protect the life, physical or mental health of the pregnant woman. It also would prevent the state from penalizing anyone who assists another person in exercising their right to abortion.
According to a New York Times/Siena College poll, the ballot measure is supported by 58 percent of the state’s likely voters. Arizona has been at the forefront of the national abortion debate since the Dobbs decision. Earlier this year, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld an 1864 law that banned nearly all abortions in the state. After a protracted back-and-forth between courts, abortion remains accessible up to 15 weeks of pregnancy in the state. However, there is no exception for rape or incest.
Colorado: Amendment 79
RESULTS: PASS 61.5% YES / 38.5% NO
A yes vote on Amendment 79 in Colorado will make abortion a constitutional right in the state while lifting a 40-year-old state ban on using government funds for the procedure. While abortion is legal in the state of Colorado, passing the proposition would make abortion care more accessible to people regardless of their income.
Notably, the amendment does not include any language about abortion access before or after viability. As Salon has previously reported, viability is usually defined by gestational age, but many doctors disagree with this. Many physicians would prefer that abortion laws don’t include gestational age limits. The amendment will require the support of 55 percent of voters to pass.
Florida: Amendment 4
Results: FAIL 58.4% YES / 41.7% NO
If passed, the initiative would amend the Florida state constitution to prohibit government interference with the right to abortion before viability. Currently, Florida’s post-Dobbs abortion law makes it a felony to perform or actively participate in an abortion six weeks after gestation. Technically, the ban has exceptions for rape, incest and human trafficking up to 15 weeks, and to save a woman’s life or prevent “substantial and irreversible” impairment. However, as experts have pointed out to Salon — and previous reports have shown — these exceptions are difficult to access.
"It's a health care issue, it is about our personal freedom and liberty to make our own decisions."
Likewise, women in Florida are still being denied care despite these so-called exceptions. Notably, ballot initiatives in Florida need 60 percent of voters to pass. This is the highest threshold any campaign in the country needs to reach. Ron Desantis’s administration has unleashed an active campaign to oppose the amendment. As Salon previously reported, some believe these tactics could backfire.
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Maryland: Question 1
Results: PASS 74% YES / 26% NO
On Maryland’s ballot this year, voters will be asked if they want to pass a proposed amendment that confirms an individual's fundamental right to reproductive freedom by adding a new article to the Maryland Constitution's Declaration of Rights. A right to reproductive freedom would include "the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end one's own pregnancy." Currently, abortion is legal in Maryland until viability. Similar to Colorado’s measure, there is no specific language around “viability” in the proposed amendment.
Missouri: Amendment 3
Results: PASS 53.5% YES / 46.8% NO
In Missouri, Amendment 3 would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution, overturning the state’s current abortion ban. Missouri has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country where abortion is mostly entirely prohibited but only allowed "in cases of medical emergency.” Despite the state being Republican-led, supporters of the proposed amendment are hopeful the ballot initiative will pass.
“If the past two years have shown us anything, it is that voters' opinions on abortion are far more nuanced and far less partisan than our typical right versus left political discourse would have you believe,” Rachel Sweet, the campaign manager for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, said at a news conference recently. “It's a health care issue, it is about our personal freedom and liberty to make our own decisions, and we know the majority of Americans support the right to abortion, and that includes the majority of Missourians.”
Montana: Constitutional Initiative 128
Results: PASS 56.6% / NO 43.4%
A yes vote will amend the state constitution to provide a state constitutional "right to make and carry out decisions about one's own pregnancy, including the right to abortion.” It will also provide a constitutional right in the state to access abortion after fetal viability when "medically indicated to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient."
Currently, abortion is legal in Montana until fetal viability. However, in 2022, conservative lawmakers in the state put a so-called “Born Alive” ballot measure that would have declared an embryo or fetus as a legal person in front of voters, which they rejected.
Nebraska: Initiative 439 and Initiative 434
Initiative 439 RESULTS FAIL: 51.3% NO / 48.7% YES
Nebraskan voters will face dueling abortion-focused initiatives on the ballot this year: Initiative 439 and Initiative 434. A yes vote for Initiative 439 will amend the state constitution to establish a right to abortion until fetal viability, or when needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient. However, it’s the only state with competing abortion measures on the ballot.
Voting yes on Initiative 434 would ban abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy with limited exceptions. While it’s possible both initiatives will pass, the one with the most votes will win.
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Nevada: Question 6
Results: PASS 62.7% / 37.3% NO
If passed, Question 6 would amend the Nevada state constitution to make access to abortion a state right. Specifically, the measure states it would create an “individual’s fundamental right to an abortion, without interference by state or local governments, whenever the abortion is performed by a qualified healthcare professional until fetal viability or when necessary to protect the health or life of the pregnant individual at any point during the pregnancy.” Abortion is legal up to 24 weeks of pregnancy in Nevada, but the measure is seen by pro-abortion advocates as an extra layer of protection.
New York: Proposal 1
Results: PASS 72% YES / 28% NO
While the word “abortion” isn’t technically part of the measure, a yes vote would “protect against unequal treatment based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy.” It would also protect “against unequal treatment based on reproductive health care and autonomy.” Proponents of the measure say voting yes on it will “protect rights and freedoms” and “close loopholes” that future politicians could use to restrict rights. Currently, abortion is currently legal up until 24 weeks of pregnancy in New York.
South Dakota: Constitutional Amendment G
Results: FAIL 61% / 39 % YES
Constitutional Amendment G is seen as a more restrictive proposal, as it would only enshrine rights in the state constitution for an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. “In the second trimester, the amendment allows the regulation of a pregnant woman's abortion decision, and the regulation of carrying out an abortion,” the proposal measure states. “Any regulation of a pregnant woman's abortion decision, or of an abortion, during the second trimester must be reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.”
During the third trimester, state regulators could still regulate abortion access except when "abortion is necessary, in the medical judgment of the woman's physician, to preserve the life and health of the pregnant woman." South Dakota currently has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.
UPDATE This story has been updated with the latest results.
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