Ballot measures on abortion access are at the center of a new wave of legal and procedural questions in the US
Opponents of abortion access have focused on the technicalities at a time when the vote has swung to the side of abortion access advocates, who have won on all seven ballot questions in the past two years. Abortion-related measures are on the ballot in six states in November — and that number could grow.
There has been disagreement over how the measures should be described in official documents and whether they should even be eligible for a vote.
Here’s what you need to know about the latest wave of legal questions.
In Arizona, election officials are still checking to see if there are enough valid signatures to add a measure protecting abortion rights to the ballot.
Even if that question remains, there is still a difference of opinion about it how to describe the measure in a pamphlet distributed to voters as a reference.
A Republican-led legislative committee wants a fetus to be described as an “unborn human being.”
Arizona for Abortion Access filed a lawsuit this week to block the use of that phrase, arguing it is politically charged and intended to mobilize opposition to the measure.
Election officials in Arkansas rejected petitions Wednesday to put an abortion rights measure before voters there, sparking a dispute that has not yet gone to court.
The Secretary of State’s Office said the petitions filed earlier this month did not contain the required statements concerning paid signature collectors.
The group pushing for the ballot measure, Arkansas for Limited Government, said it has given up what it was supposed to give up. But the state is sticking to its guns, and it could end up in court.
The organizations behind two ballot proposals in Montana, including one to guarantee abortion rights, this week sued the Secretary of State’s office on the changes made to the rules regarding whose signatures may be accepted in support of voting motions.
Foreign Minister Christi Jacobsen told counties last month to reject signatures from inactive voters, voters who did not vote in a general election and did not respond to attempts to verify their mailing address.
The groups promoting the ballot measures say this position violates the state constitution, which requires petitions to be signed by qualified voters: U.S. citizens 18 and older who meet registration and residency requirements.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday.
In June, petitions were filed for amendments to protect abortion rights and abolish partisan primaries.
This week’s developments are just the latest round of conflict over abortion ballot questions.
The Life Defense Fund was established in South Dakota last month sued to block abortion rights measure that is on the November ballot. That case is still pending in court.
The judges’ rulings have been crucial in getting amendments to the ballot box to guarantee abortion rights. Florida And Nevada.
The highest state court in new york Thursday agreed with a lower court decision that put an amendment banning discrimination based on “gender identity” and “pregnancy outcomes” before voters. A judge struck it off the ballot in May after hearing a procedural error by legislators who had put it there.
Last year, Ohio voters voted a claim rejected that constitutional amendments receive 60% of the popular vote just a few months before an amendment is approved add abortion rights to the state constitution.
The ballot questions are part of a review of the state’s abortion policy after a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion rights nationwide. Most Republican-controlled states have moved to enforce restrictions — including 14 that now ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions.