Where Voters Will Decide on Abortion in November

Voters in a record 10 states will decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions this fall. In Nebraska, voters face two measures: one favoring abortion rights and another that would ban abortion after the first trimester.

Supporters of abortion rights hope to continue their winning streak in both blue and red states, after a successful run of measures since the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Opponents have been working to keep these measures off the ballot or make them hard to pass.

How the measures would amend state constitutions

Of the abortion rights measures, most would recreate the standard set by Roe, which protected abortion until “viability” — the point at which a fetus could survive outside the uterus, or around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

In Nebraska, where two abortion ballot measures take opposite stances, state officials have said that the measure with the most supportive votes would take effect.

The New York proposal does not explicitly mention abortion, but proponents say it would prevent abortion restrictions by stopping discrimination based on pregnancy outcomes or reproductive health choices.

How the measures could change the legal landscape

Twenty-two states currently ban or restrict abortion, and the procedure is broadly legal in the rest of the country.

If every abortion rights measure is successful this fall, five states would see big changes in abortion access in the months after Election Day. Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota have existing bans and restrictions, and the ballot measures would make abortion broadly legal again.

South Dakota’s amendment would prevent abortion restrictions only in the first trimester, and the State Legislature is likely to pass new restrictions after that point.

In Colorado, Maryland, Montana and New York, abortion is already legal and winning measures would enshrine its status. Colorado’s measure would further expand abortion access by allowing the use of public funds to pay for the procedure.

If all of the measures fail, abortion laws in each state would be unchanged — at least for now. Legislatures in states like Arizona, Florida and Nebraska could restrict abortions further than they already do.

If the anti-abortion measure in Nebraska passes, it would enshrine restrictions after the first trimester, which is similar to the state’s current law.

What the polls say

A majority of U.S. adults say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to recent national polling from the Pew Research Center. State-level polling of abortion attitudes is rarer, but a 2023 survey from the Public Religion Research Institute showed majority support for abortion rights in every state where the issue will be on the ballot this fall, except for South Dakota.

Polls that ask specifically about this year’s abortion rights ballot measures show broad support for the proposals, but experts say such polls should be interpreted with caution. Ballot measure language can be complex and confusing for the public and therefore difficult to poll. In addition, many of these polls are run by partisan groups that may have an agenda.

Still, polls from varied organizations reveal that a majority of people would support the abortion rights measures on the ballot in Arizona, Missouri, New York and South Dakota. But in Florida, where the abortion ballot measure must reach 60 percent support to pass, some polls have shown it falling short of that threshold.

Where voters have already backed abortion rights

Voters in seven states, including Republican-led Kentucky and Ohio, have sided with abortion rights supporters when voting on ballot measures since Roe was overturned in 2022.

The winning measures cemented abortion rights in California, Michigan and Vermont, and tossed out restrictions on the procedure in Ohio. Voters in Kansas, Kentucky and Montana rejected efforts to restrict abortion.