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    • Nebraska favors ban and Florida measure fails
    Colorado

    Nebraska favors ban and Florida measure fails

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

    Topline

    Nebraska voters on Tuesday narrowly approved a state measure restricting first-trimester abortion, as the state and Florida became the first states to do so since the repeal of Roe v. Wade were where ballot measures violated abortion rights – even though four other states have so far voted to protect reproductive rights. (This page will be updated as results come in.)

    Important facts

    Florida: Amendment 4 would have amended the state constitution to make clear that no law “shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the health of the patient” and would have amended the existing six-week abortion ban State repealed — while the amendment took effect 57% of the vote as of 9:15 p.m. EST, which is less than the 60% needed for passage, the Associated Press predicts.

    Missouri: The reproductive freedom amendment, which the Associated Press called for with 53% support as of noon EST on Wednesday, will override the state’s near-total abortion ban and establish in the state constitution that the state does not interfere with a person’s “fundamental right to “interfere with reproductive freedom” or prosecute someone for having an abortion or aiding and abetting one.

    Colorado: The abortion rights proposal, which the AP called for with 61.5% support as of 10:30 p.m. EST, will add abortion rights to the state constitution and specify that the state cannot deny health insurance coverage for abortions – what the state currently does, however, has few abortion restrictions.

    Maryland: The right to reproductive freedom amendment, which the Associated Press called for with 74% support as of 9:30 p.m. EST, will amend the state constitution to state that people “have the right to reproductive freedom,” including “choices to prevent, continue, or… “Ending one’s pregnancy,” even though abortion is already legal in the state.

    New York: The equal protection amendment, which the AP called for with 72.3% support as of 9:30 p.m. EST, would make broader changes to anti-discrimination provisions in the New York Constitution, including adding protections against discrimination based on “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, etc.” .”. reproductive health care and autonomy” to ensure abortion remains legal in the state.

    Arizona: Proposition 139 would create a “fundamental right to abortion” in the state constitution, prohibiting the state from banning abortions before a fetus is viable and repealing the state’s 15-week ban. (Polls closed at 9:00 p.m. EST and results have not yet been announced. A simple majority was required to pass.)

    Montana: Constitutional Initiative No. 128 would allow abortions until the fetus is viable and thereafter, if medically necessary, amend the state constitution to “expressly provide for a right to make and carry out decisions regarding one’s pregnancy, including the right to abortion.” “. Ensure access to abortion cannot be revoked in the state after courts previously affirmed it. (Polls closed at 10:00 p.m. EST and the vote was too early to be called. A simple majority was required to pass.)

    Nebraska (anti-abortion access): The state had two competing abortion measures on the ballot, with the AP reporting at 1 a.m. EST that the anti-abortion rights measure had passed with 53.8% support; It will enshrine the state’s existing 12-week ban in the state constitution and ban abortions after the first trimester except in cases of rape, incest or medical emergencies.

    Nebraska (access for abortion advocates): The other state abortion measure would legalize abortion until the fetus is viable or when medically necessary and repeal the state’s 12-week ban. (Polls closed at 9:00 p.m. EST and the vote was too early to be called. A simple majority of at least 35% of the total number of votes cast was required to accept the election.)

    Nevada: The “Right to Abortion” initiative would guarantee the “fundamental right to an abortion performed or performed by a qualified physician until the fetus is viable or when necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient,” although abortions are prohibited in the State are already allowed. (Polls closed at 10:00 p.m. EST and results have not yet been announced. A simple majority was required to pass, but would also need to be passed a second time in 2026.)

    South Dakota: Amendment G would repeal the current state ban and impose increasing restrictions on abortions later in pregnancy, allowing abortions without restrictions within the first trimester of a pregnancy and abortions in the second trimester only for a reason “reasonably related to the physical condition.” Health stands.” the pregnant person and an abortion in the third trimester only if necessary for the life or health of the pregnant person. (Polls closed at 9:00 p.m. EST and the vote was too early to be called. A simple majority was required to pass.)

    What you should pay attention to

    It remains to be seen how long it will take for all races to be called as this will depend on how close the races are.

    Crucial quote

    “Tonight, Floridians raised their voices loud and clear to demand an end to the state’s restrictive six-week abortion ban,” Floridians Protecting Freedom, the main group pushing for the state’s abortion measure, said in a statement Tuesday evening. “While Amendment 4 narrowly missed the 60% mark, a clear majority of voters called for lawmakers to repeal the extreme abortion ban.”

    What we don’t know

    Whether and how abortion ballot measures could help or hurt Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in the states where they were introduced. Democrats traditionally view abortion ballot measures as a way to promote their candidates and assume that more Democratic voters will be persuaded to vote because they want to support the ballot measure and that they will then vote for Harris. Trump campaign political director James Blair told The Washington Post that the Trump campaign believes the ballot measures could actually help them. However, polls suggest that abortion ballot measures are more popular than Harris, suggesting that voters will split their vote to support both the legality of abortion and Trump. That’s because voters may believe that their vote to maintain abortion access in the states means they don’t have to consider it a central issue in the presidential election, and that they will therefore support Trump, even though the odds are high What is bigger is that he would take action against the right to abortion. Both mindsets could have significant implications for the presidential election, with abortion on the ballot in the major swing states of Arizona and Nevada.

    Big number

    56%. That’s the share of U.S. voters in a YouGov poll in October who broadly said they would support a hypothetical ballot measure in their state that would retain a right to abortion before the birth of the fetus enshrined in their state’s constitution legal and reject abortion bans. However, a 53 percent majority also said they would support a ban on abortion after the third trimester, except in cases of rape, incest and medical emergencies, as Republicans have opposed abortions later in pregnancy.

    Main critic

    This year’s abortion ballot measures faced strong opposition from Republicans and anti-abortion advocates in the states where they were introduced. Measures in states like Missouri, Montana and New York were allowed to remain on the ballot by judges after legal challenges were filed against them, for example, and while the measure will appear on the ballot, litigation over the referendum in South Dakota is still ongoing . Florida’s abortion ballot measure has come under the most attack as GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has opposed the measure, such as by creating a health department website to speak out against it, and DeSantis has conducted an investigation of signatures supporting the measure and by the governor. This indicated that the state would file criminal charges against television stations that air advertisements in support of the measure. A judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking DeSantis’ administration from cracking down on television advertising, ruling that the state was “trampling” the right to free speech.

    Important background

    Abortion choice measures have become an important tool for abortion rights advocates to maintain access to the procedure following the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade tipped in June 2022. The measures have become a way for abortion rights advocates to rally public opinion on legalizing the procedure, overriding anti-abortion lawmakers in states that have banned abortion or are threatening to ban it, and ensuring that even if abortion is legal in a particular state, lawmakers cannot ban it in the future. Kansas became the first state to put abortion on the ballot in August 2022, followed by California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont in the 2022 midterm elections and Ohio voting on abortion rights in 2023, part of a broader trend that has seen candidates supporting Championing abortion rights, winning at the ballot box when abortion is a key issue.

    Further reading

    ForbesHow Americans Really Think About Abortion: The Sometimes Surprising Poll Results at the Start of the DNCFrom Alison Durkee
    ForbesAbortion is on the ballot here in November – the measures in Nebraska were upheld in courtFrom Alison Durkee

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    Madoc Meredith
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