Nevada election officials are reviewing signatures to see if there are enough to put an abortion rights constitutional amendment before voters in November, part of a national effort to ask voters about abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the right to abortion nationwide .
Since the court’s ruling in 2022, new abortion restrictions have gone into effect in most Republican-controlled states, including fourteen that ban abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Most Democratic-led states have laws or executive orders to protect access.
Additionally, voters in seven states — California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont — have sided with abortion rights advocates on ballot measures.
It is not yet clear how many states will vote on measures to enshrine access to abortion in November. In some cases it is questionable whether the proponents of amendments can obtain sufficient valid signatures. In other cases it is up to the legislator. And in some states there is legal wrangling.
Some attempts to restrict or ban abortion have also failed to result in votes. In Wisconsin, the House of Representatives passed a measure asking voters to ban abortion after 14 weeks, but the legislative session ended without a Senate vote. 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 sought 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, a Maine measure effectively died when it failed to gain the approval of two-thirds of the House of Representatives, and a Minnesota measure also failed to pass lawmakers.
COLORADO
Colorado’s top elections official confirmed Friday that a measure to enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution, including requirements that Medicaid and private health insurers cover them, has passed the ballot for the fall elections.
Supporters said they had collected more than 225,000 signatures, almost double the requirement of more than 124,000 signatures.
Amending the state constitution requires the support of 55% of voters.
Those supporting a dueling measure — a bill banning abortion — have not submitted signatures, and the measure will not go before voters.
Abortion is legal in Colorado at all stages of pregnancy.
FLORIDA
The state Supreme Court ruled in April that a ballot measure to legalize abortion until viability could be brought to a vote, despite a legal challenge from state Attorney General Ashley Moody, who argued that there are differing views on the meaning of “viability.” and that there are some important The terms in the proposed measure are not well defined.
Supporters collected nearly a million signatures to put a state constitutional amendment legalizing abortion through viability on the ballot, exceeding the required number of nearly 892,000.
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 that took effect May 1.
MARYLAND
Maryland voters will also be asked this year to enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s 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 is established.
SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota voters will decide this fall on a measure that would ban all restrictions on abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. It would give the state the ability in the second trimester to “regulate pregnant women’s abortion decision and its implementation only in ways reasonably related to the pregnant woman’s physical health.” An abortion ban would be allowed in the third trimester as long as exceptions for the woman’s life and health were included.
The state’s top elections official announced May 16 that about 85% of the more than 55,000 signatures submitted in support of the ballot initiative are valid, exceeding the required 35,017 signatures.
Opponents have until June 17 to file a complaint with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
ARIZONA
A signature campaign is underway to add a constitutional right to abortion in Arizona. Under the measure, the state would not be able to ban abortion until the fetus is viable, with later abortions allowed to protect a woman’s physical or mental health. Supporters must collect nearly 384,000 valid signatures before July 4.
Abortion is currently legal during the first fifteen weeks of pregnancy in Arizona. An Arizona Supreme Court ruling in April said enforcement could soon begin on a near-total ban that was already on the books. The governor has now signed a bill that repeals this law. However, it is expected to be in effect for some time to come.
ARKANSAS
Supporters of an amendment that would allow abortion in many cases must collect nearly 91,000 signatures by July 5 to get it on the Nov. 5 ballot. The measure would ban laws that ban abortion during 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 it is unlikely that the fetus will survive birth. Because it would allow abortion to be banned after 20 weeks of pregnancy, the proposal does not have the support of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which includes Arkansas. The state currently bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with few exceptions.
MISSOURI
Abortion rights advocates in Missouri submitted more than 380,000 signatures — more than double the required 171,000 — for a measure asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment to guarantee abortion until its 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 are enough.
A group of moderate Republicans this year abandoned efforts for an alternative amendment that would have allowed abortion up to 12 weeks, with limited exceptions afterward.
Abortion is currently banned 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 it is necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant person. 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 supporters collect more than 60,000 signatures by June 21. Abortion is legal until viability in Montana, under a 1999 Montana treaty. Supreme Court opinion.
NEBRASKA
Advocates are trying to gather about 125,000 signatures needed by July 5 to submit a constitutional amendment to voters to protect abortion rights until the viability of the fetus. A competing petition would add a constitutional amendment mirroring a law passed last year banning abortion after 12 weeks, with some exceptions.
NEVADA
Organizers said Monday they had submitted nearly twice as many signatures as needed to put an abortion rights measure on the Nevada ballot 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 in the state constitution. Such access is already assured by a 1990 law. More than 102,000 valid signatures are needed to place the measure on the ballot, and organizers said they had submitted more than 200,000.
Now, county election officials must verify signatures in early June.
In order to amend the constitution, voters must approve it in both 2024 and 2026.
NEW YORK
Earlier this month, a judge removed an equal protection amendment covering reproductive health care from the November ballot, finding lawmakers missed a procedural step when they introduced it there.
Attorney General Letitia James said she would appeal the ruling.
The measure would bar discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes” and “reproductive health care,” along with sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and disability. The language does not explicitly guarantee the right to abortion in New York, where it is currently permitted until viable.