Welcome to the Friday, May 24, Brew.
By: Mercedes Yanora
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Abortion measure update: four states confirmed to vote on the issue in November, eight more could join them
- With Mississippi’s new law, more states have banned ranked-choice voting in 2024 than any other year
- How many states have approved ballot measures prohibiting noncitizens from voting?
Abortion measure update: four states confirmed to vote on the issue in November, eight more could join them
Voters in as many as a dozen states could be voting on abortion-related ballot measures this November. Here’s an update on where votes will occur, and where campaigns are still underway:
- Measures in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, and South Dakota have been certified for the ballot.
- Officials are verifying petition signatures in Missouri and Nevada.
- Measures are either in the signature-gathering phase, undergoing legislative votes, or under legal review in six other states.
Certified abortion-related ballot measures in 2024
Colorado
Colorado voters will decide on a constitutional amendment that would establish a right to abortion in the state constitution. It would prohibit the state or local governments from denying or impeding the right to an abortion and allow health plans to cover the procedure.
Florida
Amendment 4 would establish a constitutional right to abortion “before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”
Maryland
Maryland voters will decide on a constitutional amendment that would guarantee a right to reproductive freedom, including the ability to prevent, continue, or end one’s own pregnancy.
South Dakota
Constitutional Amendment G would provide a trimester framework for regulating abortion in the South Dakota Constitution.
- First trimester: The state would be prohibited from regulating a woman’s decision to have an abortion.
- Second trimester: The state may regulate abortion, but “only in ways that are reasonably related to the physical health of the pregnant woman.”
- Third trimester: The state may regulate or prohibit abortion, except “when abortion is necessary, in the medical judgment of the woman’s physician, to preserve the life and health of the pregnant woman.”
Abortion-related ballot measures in the signature-submitted or gathering phases, undergoing legislative votes, or under legal review in 2024
Arizona
The campaign Arizona for Abortion Access said it gathered enough signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would establish a state constitutional right to abortion that the state may not interfere with before the point of fetal viability.
Arkansas
The Arkansans for Limited Government campaign is gathering signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would prohibit laws or policies restricting abortion access within 18 weeks from conception; in cases of rape, incest, or fatal fetal anomaly; or when a physician determines an abortion is needed to protect the life or health of the mother.
Missouri
The Missourians for Constitutional Freedom campaign submitted signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would establish the right to reproductive freedom, and allow the legislature to regulate abortion after fetal viability.
Montana
Montana voters may decide on a constitutional amendment that would establish the right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including a right to abortion. The campaign is gathering signatures.
Nebraska
There are four possible measures in Nebraska related to abortion.
- The Protect Our Rights campaign is gathering signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would establish a right to abortion until fetal viability.
- Another constitutional amendment would prohibit abortions after the first trimester unless a medical emergency necessitates one or the pregnancy is a result of sexual assault or incest. The campaign is gathering signatures.
- Voters may decide on a state statute that would prohibit abortion procedures and drugs except in cases to preserve the life of the mother. The campaign is gathering signatures.
- Another constitutional amendment would define a preborn child as a person in the state constitution. The campaign is gathering signatures.
Nevada
The Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom campaign submitted signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would establish a state right to an abortion. The measure would allow the state to regulate abortion after fetal viability, except where medically indicated to protect the life, physical health, or mental health of the pregnant woman.
New York
New York voters may decide on a constitutional amendment to prohibit the denial of a person’s rights based on “ethnicity, national origin, age, [and] disability,” as well as the person’s “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.” The New York Legislature referred the measure to the ballot. It was removed following state Supreme Court Justice Daniel J. Doyle’s May 7 ruling that the legislature approved the amendment’s language before the attorney general could provide a written opinion. New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) said her office would appeal the decision.
Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Legislature may refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot saying there is no right to a taxpayer-funded abortion or any other right relating to abortion. The amendment already passed in the 2021-2022 legislative session and would need to pass the current session by a simple majority.
The amendment would need 102 votes in the Pennsylvania House — there are 101 Republicans and 102 Democrats. Previously, 106 Republicans and one Democrat voted for the amendment, and 88 Democrats and four Republicans voted against (with three Republicans absent for the vote).
States where abortion measures have been on the ballot since Dobbs
Following Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, seven abortion-related measures appeared on the ballot. In 2022, six appeared — the most on record for a single year. Voters approved measures in California, Michigan, and Vermont and defeated measures in Kansas, Kentucky, and Montana. The most recent measure that voters passed was Ohio Issue 1 in November 2023.
With Mississippi’s new law, more states have banned ranked-choice voting in 2024 than any other year
On May 13, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) signed Senate Bill 2144 (SB 2144) into law, which bans ranked-choice voting (RCV). With the new law, more states have now banned RCV in 2024 than in any other year. Mississippi joined Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Alabama, who all adopted legislation banning RCV this year, and became the ninth state overall to prohibit RCV.
SB 2144 bans RCV “in statewide, county, local, municipal and school district elections” in Mississippi and prohibits any voting method “to rank candidates for an office in order of preference” in primary and party nominating contests.
The House passed the bill 117-2 and the Senate 50-1 on May 2.
Besides Kentucky, every state had a Republican trifecta at the time of its ban. In Kentucky, lawmakers overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s (D) veto of the ban.
Voters in at least four states will decide statewide ballot measures related to RCV this November. In Nevada and Oregon, voters will decide on adopting the system. In Alaska, voters will decide on repealing the system they approved in 2020, while in Missouri voters will consider banning RCV.
Proponents of RCV argue that the electoral system reduces the cost of runoff elections, increases civility, and creates more representative electoral outcomes. Opponents of RCV argue that the system is too opaque, confuses voters, and leads to wasted votes. For more arguments for and against RCV, click here.
RCV is used for regular statewide elections in two states, Alaska and Maine, and for special congressional elections in Hawaii. Fourteen states contain localities that either use or are scheduled to use RCV in municipal elections.
For more coverage of RCV legislation, check out our monthly report here.
#FridayTrivia: How many states have approved ballot measures prohibiting noncitizens from voting?
In the Thursday Brew, we looked at a measure Missouri voters will decide that would prohibit ranked-choice voting (RCV) and noncitizen voting. The Missouri Legislature voted to place the constitutional amendment on the November ballot on May 17.
The measure would amend the state constitution to add the following language: “Only citizens of the United States, including occupants of soldiers’ and sailors’ homes, over the age of eighteen who are residents of this state and of the political subdivision in which they offer to vote are entitled to vote at all elections by the people.” Currently, the constitution reads: “All citizens of the United States …”
Four other states — Iowa, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Wisconsin — will also decide measures in 2024 related to noncitizen voting.
These five states are not the first to vote on amending their constitutions to add language about citizenship voting requirements. North Dakota became the first state to do so in 2018, and other states have followed.
Including North Dakota, how many states have approved ballot measures prohibiting noncitizens from voting?