Ballot measures in 41 states give voters a say on abortion and other tough questions

This fall, the issues of life, death, crime and taxes will come up for a vote.

More than 140 measures will go before voters in 41 states during the general election, along with choices for president and other top jobs. The ballot questions give voters a chance to decide a number of important issues directly, rather than leaving it up to their elected representatives.

Arizona, Colorado and California have the largest number of ballot measures. In some states, more could be placed on the ballot. And some measures could be removed from the ballot if pending lawsuits are successful.

Below is an overview of some of this year’s key voting topics.

Pregnancy-related initiatives have surged in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that ended a nationwide right to abortion and moved the issue to the states.

At least nine states will consider constitutional amendments enshrining abortion rights —Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, and South Dakota. Most would guarantee the right to abortion until the fetus is viable and allow it later for the health of the pregnant woman.

Nebraska is the only state with a competing measureIt would incorporate the current state structure into the constitution 12-week abortion ban with exceptions for rape, incest, and saving the life of the pregnant woman. If both are passed, the one with the most votes will take effect.

A proposed amendment in New York makes no specific mention of abortion, but prohibits discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy outcomes” and “reproductive health care and autonomy.”

A proposed amendment in West Virginia to ban medically assisted suicide is the only measure this year. Physician-assisted suicide is allowed in 10 states and Washington, D.C.

In eight states, Republican legislatures proposed amendments requiring only citizens to vote.

A 1996 U.S. law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and many states already have similar laws. However, specific constitutional bans are being proposed in Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin. The measures are part of a Republican emphasis on immigration and election integrity.

Although there is no evidence of widespread voting by non-citizensSome municipalities in California, Maryland, Vermont, and Washington, DC do allow it for certain local elections.

A California proposal would toughen penalties for repeat shoplifters and fentanyl dealers and create a new drug court treatment program for people with multiple drug possession convictions. The measure would expand parts of an initiative from 2014 which reduced sentences for nonviolent drug and property crimes to address prison overcrowding. The latest move comes after a surge in groups that thefts by burglary in stores.

A measure in Arizona would require life in prison for certain child sex trafficking convictions. Two proposals in Colorado would deny bail in first-degree murder cases and increase mandatory prison sentences before people convicted of certain violent crimes are eligible for parole.

Actions in IdahoMontana, Nevada and South Dakota would create open primaries, in which candidates from all parties appear on the same ballot and a certain number advance to the general election. Voters in Arizona would choose between competing proposals that would require either open primaries or the state’s current method of partisan primaries. If both pass, the one with the most votes would take effect.

A Florida measure would extend partisan elections to school boards, reversing a 1998 amendment that made elections officially nonpartisan. It would remove party designations from ballots.

In Idaho, Nevada and Oregon, a ranked-choice system is being proposed, in which voters indicate their preferences for candidates. The votes cast for the lowest-ranking candidate are reallocated until one person wins a majority.

Ranking choice voting is currently used in Alaska and Maine. But Alaska voters will consider whether it should be withdrawn provisions of a 2020 initiative that established open primaries and ranked-choice general elections. Missouri’s measure for citizens to vote would also ban ranked-choice voting.

A Connecticut amendment would allow no-excuse mail-in voting. A Nevada proposal would require a photo ID to vote in person or the last four digits of a driver’s license or Social Security number to vote by mail. If approved in Nevada, the measure would require a second affirmative vote in 2026 to take effect.

A Colorado proposal would make it the second state after California to impose a sales tax on firearms and ammunition. The proceeds would go primarily to crime victim services. The federal government already taxes the sale of guns and ammunition.

A measure from Arizona would make it a state crime to enter from a country other than through official ports of entry, and for someone already in the U.S. illegally to apply for public benefits using false documents. The border-crossing measure is similar to a contested law in Texas According to the Justice Department, this violates federal authority and would cause chaos at the border.

Arizona’s measure would also make it a crime to sell fentanyl that causes a person’s death.

Voters in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana for adults. It will be the third vote on the issue in both North Dakota And South DakotaAbout half of the states currently allow recreational marijuana, and about a dozen other states allow medical marijuana.

In Massachusetts, a bill would legalize the possession and controlled use of natural psychedelics, including psilocybin mushrooms.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide in 2015, some states still have unenforceable provisions against them. Measures in California, Colorado and Hawaii would repeal those provisions. The California measure would go further, declaring, “The right to marry is a fundamental right.”

A California measure would gradually raise the minimum wage for all employers to $18 an hour. Measures in Alaska and Missouri would gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour while also requiring paid sick leave. A Nebraska measure would provide paid sick leave but leave wages unchanged.

A Massachusetts measure would gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped workers until it equals the rate for other workers. In contrast, a measure in Arizona would allow tipped workers to be paid 25 percent less than the minimum wage, as long as the tips bring their total pay above the minimum wage threshold.

Proposals in California and Nevada would repeal constitutional provisions that allow “involuntary servitude” as punishment for crime. Some advocates seek to curtail forced prison labor.

Colorado started the trend by revising its constitution to ban slavery and involuntary servitude in 2018. Utah and Nebraska followed suit in 2020 and Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont until 2022.

North Dakota voters will consider a unique move to abolish property taxIf passed, local governments could need more than $3 billion in replacement revenue every two years from the state, which collects billions in taxes from the fossil fuel industry.

Rising real estate values have also led to measures to limit or reduce assessed property values ​​or taxes in Colorado, Florida, Georgia and New Mexico.

Arizona has a unique proposal that links property taxes and measures to combat homelessness. It would allow homeowners to recover property taxes if they incur expenses because a local government failed to enforce ordinances against illegal camping, loitering, panhandling, obstructing public ways, public urination or defecation, or the public consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs.

An initiative from Ohio would create a citizens’ commission to draw districts for the House of Representatives and state legislatures, taking over the duties of elected officials. A proposed amendment in Utah would allow lawmakers to repeal or revise voter-approved initiatives — a response to a state Supreme Court ruling that lawmakers had overstepped their authority by revising a voter-approved redistricting initiative.

Voters in Missouri will decide whether to legalize sports betting through a measure supported by its professional sports teams. In all, 38 states and Washington, D.C., have already allow sports bettingwhich has expanded rapidly since the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for from 2018.