Which states could have abortion on the ballot in 2024? Arkansas organizers hope to join the list
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Organizers of an initiative to roll back Arkansas’ abortion ban have until Friday to submit enough signatures to put their proposal before voters on the November ballot.
If successful, Arkansas would become the sixth state where election officials validate signatures on abortion measures. They are already on the ballot in five others, plus a proposed amendment in New York that would prohibit discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes.”
Proponents of other abortion measures in Arizona and Nebraska filed petitions in their respective states on Wednesday.
The fate of the measures could alter or confirm trends that have developed in the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court. the national right to abortion has been abolished.
Since the ruling, most Republican states have enacted new abortion restrictions, including 14 that ban abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Most Democratic states have passed laws or executive orders to protect access.
Voters in all seven states where questions about abortion have been raised since 2022 have sided with abortion rights advocates, including California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont.
Below is a look at which abortion measures could appear on the ballot in November:
COLORADO
Colorado’s top elections official confirmed in May that a measure to enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution, including a requirement that Medicaid and private health insurers cover abortions, had made it to the ballot for the fall election.
Supporters said they had collected more than 225,000 signatures, nearly double the requirement of more than 124,000 signatures. Changing the state constitution requires the support of 55% of voters.
Those supporting a countermeasure — a bill to ban abortion — have not submitted signatures and the measure will not go before voters.
In Colorado, abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy.
FLORIDA
The state Supreme Court ruled in April that a vote on legalizing abortion until the fetus is viable could go on the ballot, despite a legal challenge from state Attorney General Ashley Moody, who argued that there are differing views on the meaning of “viability” and that some key terms in the proposed measure are not properly defined.
Lawyers gathered nearly a million signatures to bring an amendment to the state constitution to the floor to legalize abortion until it is feasible, surpassing the 892,000 needed.
For the measure to come into effect, the approval of at least 60% of voters is required.
Abortion is currently illegal in Florida after the first six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant, under a law which came into effect on May 1.
MARYLAND
Voters will again be asked this year to enshrine abortion rights in Maryland’s constitution. The state already protects abortion rights under state law, and Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1. Abortion is legal in Maryland until it is viable.
NEVADA
The Nevada Secretary of State The office announced in June that a vote on enshrining abortion rights in the state Constitution had met all the requirements to go before voters in November.
Under the amendment, abortion access would be guaranteed for the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, or later to protect the health of the pregnant person. Such access is already guaranteed under a 1990 law.
To amend the constitution, voters must approve it in 2024 and 2026.
SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota voters will vote this fall on a measure to ban restrictions on abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. It would allow the state to regulate in the second trimester “the pregnant woman’s decision to have an abortion and its performance 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, provided exceptions are made that concern the woman’s life and health.
The state’s top election official announced on May 16 that about 85% of the more than 55,000 signatures submitted in support of the voting initiative are valid and exceed the required 35,017 signatures.
Opponents have filed a lawsuit to try to remove the initiative from the vote.
ARIZONA
Abortion rights advocates more than 823,000 signatures submitted on Wednesday to put an abortion access measure before voters in November, more than twice the amount required.
Election officials still have to verify the signatures.
Under this measure, the state may only prohibit abortion if the fetus is viable. Later abortions are allowed to protect a woman’s physical or mental health.
Abortion is currently legal for the first 15 weeks of pregnancy in the state. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled in April that enforcement of a near-total ban already on the books can begin soon. The governor has since signed a bill the repeal of that lawHowever, it is expected that this will still take some time.
ARKANSAS
Supporters of an amendment to allow abortion in many cases must gather nearly 91,000 signatures by Friday to get the measure on the Nov. 5 ballot. They must also submit a minimum number of signatures from 50 of the state’s 75 counties.
On Wednesday, advocates said they were unable to submit about 5,800 petitions, with two days left to distribute them.
The measure would ban 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 would allow abortions to be banned after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the bill does not have the support of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which includes Arkansas. The state currently bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions.
Anti-abortion groups in the predominantly Republican state have also campaigned heavily against the measure. One group published the names and hometowns of people who collected signatures for the bill.
MISSOURI
Abortion rights advocates in Missouri turned in more than 380,000 signatures, more than twice the 171,000 needed, for a measure asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion until viability. Local election officials have until July 30 to verify the signatures, after which it will be up to the secretary of state to certify whether there were enough.
A group of moderate Republicans this year abandoned efforts to an alternative amendment that would have allowed abortions up to 12 weeks, with limited exceptions after that time.
Currently, abortion is illegal in Missouri at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions.
MONTANA
Abortion rights advocates in Montana have proposed a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the government from denying the right to an abortion before a woman is viable or when it is necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant woman.
After a legal battle over the ballot language, the Montana Supreme Court in April wrote its version of the language that would appear on the ballot if enough valid signatures were certified. Sponsors had to turn in about 60,000 by June 21. They turned in about 117,000, nearly twice as many as needed.
Provinces have until July 19 to verify the signatures and the State Secretary has until August 22 to determine whether the amendment will be on the ballot.
Abortion is legal in Montana until the child is viable, the Montana Supreme Court ruled in 1999.
NEBRASKA
Competing abortion measures could go before voters in November after advocates from both parties said Wednesday they had turned in far more signatures than the 123,000 required for access to the ballot box.
It would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution until they are viable. Supporters said they had submitted more than 207,000 signatures.
The other would incorporate the current law into the Constitution, which bans abortions after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, with some exceptions. Supporters said they had submitted more than 205,000 signatures.
Organizers of a third attempt filed no petitions. It would define embryos as people, thus banning abortion at all stages of pregnancy.
Some attempts to restrict or ban abortion have 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 in the Senate.
Similarly, Iowa lawmakers ended their session without passing a measure asking voters to find that there is no constitutional right to abortion. Pennsylvania lawmakers previously pursued a similar amendment, but it is not expected to be added to the ballot this year.
a Louisiana measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution died in committee, one in Maine effectively died when it failed to get approval from two-thirds of the House and a Minnesota measure failed to pass by legislators.