Cities join states in deciding on abortion and ranked-choice voting ballot measures

By

Ballotpedia staff

Welcome to the Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, Brew. 

By: Lara Bonatesta

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. Cities join states in deciding on abortion and ranked-choice voting ballot measures
  2. What happens if someone votes by mail and then tries to vote in person?
  3. 50 states in 25 days – Florida and South Carolina

Cities join states in deciding abortion and ranked-choice voting ballot measures

Voters will decide on a record number of statewide ballot measures regarding both abortion and ranked-choice voting in November. A number of local ballot measures will also go before voters on those same topics.  

Abortion

On Nov. 5, voters will decide on 11 abortion-related statewide ballot measures, and voters in at least two cities, Amarillo, Texas, and San Francisco, California, will decide on abortion-related local ballot initiatives.

In Amarillo, voters will decide on Proposition A, which would make the city a Sanctuary City for the Unborn and declare abortion illegal in Amarillo except when performed to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency. 

The initiative would also:

  • Prohibit residents from receiving abortions outside Amarillo 
  • Prohibit people from transporting residents outside Amarillo to receive abortions, at least to the extent permitted under the U.S. and state constitutions
  • Define abortion-inducing drugs as unlawful contraband
  • Prohibit organizations that mail items intended for abortions from operating in Amarillo and designate those organizations as criminal organizations
  • Provide that individuals have standing to bring civil actions against people who violate or intend to violate Proposition A. 

In San Francisco, voters will decide on Proposition O, which would prohibit officials and employees from sharing information with out-of-state or federal law enforcement about state-legal abortions, decisions to have abortions, and other matters.

Proposition O would also:

  • Declare that San Francisco shall not “investigate or prosecute a person for having accessed or provided reproductive health care” or “assist or cooperate with such an investigation or prosecution,” excluding cases involving “the use of coercion or force against the pregnant person” or “criminal negligence that harmed the health of the pregnant person.” 
  • Establish a Reproductive Freedom Fund, which would receive private donations to support access to abortion and emergency contraception 
  • Create Reproductive Health Clinics throughout the city. 

To read the full text of Proposition A, click here. The full text of Proposition O is available here.

Abortion is an uncommon topic for local ballot measures, though at least four appeared on ballots in Ballotpedia’s local ballot measure coverage scope from 2021 to 2023. In 2023, voters in San Antonio, Texas, rejected a ballot initiative that included a provision that would have prohibited police from enforcing criminal abortion laws. The vote was defeated 71.6% to 28.4%. In 2021, voters in Lubbock, Texas, approved a ballot measure similar to Amarillo’s by a vote of 62.5% to 37.5%. In Wisconsin, voters in Dane and Milwaukee counties decided on non-binding questions about abortion in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Both questions asked voters whether laws restricting abortion should be repealed. 85.5% of voters in Dane County and 76.9% of voters in Milwaukee County voted yes. 

Ranked choice-voting

Eight states—Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon—have certified statewide ballot measures for Nov. 5 related to ranked-choice voting (RCV), and voters in five municipalities will decide local ballot measures on the issue. Here is a breakdown:

Between 1965 and 2023, 74 RCV-related local ballot measures were on the ballot in 54 jurisdictions in 18 states. Of the 67 local measures that proposed the adoption of RCV, voters approved 52 and defeated five. Voters approved four of the seven local measures to repeal RCV and defeated three. The year with the most local RCV measures on the ballot was 2022, when there were nine. California has had the most local RCV ballot measures with 12. Colorado has had the second most with 10.

RCV is currently used statewide in Alaska and Maine, as well as in Hawaii for certain elections. Fourteen states contain localities that either use or are scheduled to begin using RCV in municipal elections, and 10 states have banned the use of RCV in any elections.

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What happens if someone votes by mail and then tries to vote in person? 

Ballotpedia’s 2024 Election Help Desk provides reliable, nonpartisan answers to more than 50 election-related questions. Earlier this month, we answered the questions, What is a provisional ballot? and How can I check the status of my ballot? Today, we’re answering the question, What happens if someone votes by mail and then tries to vote in person?

On Election Day, voters may wonder whether officials have received their absentee/mail-in ballot and might consider also voting in person to make sure their vote is counted. States handle this in various ways. Here are some examples:

  • If a mail ballot has already been received and counted, voters are not allowed to cast a ballot in person.
  • If a mail ballot has not already been received and counted, states may:
    • Allow voters to bring in their mail ballot. The mail ballot is then exchanged for an in-person ballot.
    • Allow voters to cast a provisional ballot. The provisional ballot is counted if the election agency determines that no mail ballot was cast. If a mail ballot is received by the deadline, it is counted, and the provisional ballot is discarded.
  • Allow a voter to cast a ballot in person. If a mail ballot is received by the deadline, state law determines which ballot will be counted in the final tally. In some states, the in-person vote is included in the final tally because it was received first. In other states, voters can be bound to their mail vote.

Election officials are responsible for ensuring that each vote is counted and that voters do not vote more than once. Voting twice in the same election is a felony in at least 30 states. In several other states, voting twice in the same election is considered a misdemeanor or infraction. Federal law prohibits voting more than once in federal elections, with a maximum penalty of $10,000 and/or five years in prison.

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50 states in 25 days – Florida and South Carolina

Continuing our 50 states in 25 days coverage, today we will look at what’s on the ballot in Florida and South Carolina. Yesterday, we reviewed what voters in West Virginia and Missouri can expect to see on their ballots. With six business days between now and the final Friday before the election, let’s continue looking into what’s on the ballot across the nation.

Florida

Let’s check out Florida’s elections. Here are some key dates and deadlines.

  • The deadline for registering to vote in person, by mail, or online was Oct. 7. Early voting starts Oct. 26 and ends Nov. 2.
  • All polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Florida is split between Eastern and Central time zones. Everyone in line when polls close must be allowed to vote. Voters can find polling locations here.

Here’s what is on the ballot:

South Carolina

Now, let’s look at South Carolina’s elections, starting with key dates and deadlines. 

  • The deadline for registering to vote in person, by mail, or online was Oct. 14. Mail-in registration must be postmarked by Oct. 14. Early voting started Oct. 21 and ends Nov. 2.
  • All polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Everyone in line when polls close must be allowed to vote. Voters can find polling locations here.

What’s on the ballot?

Want to learn more about the elections you’ll be voting in this year? Click here to use our Sample Ballot Lookup tool!

The information above is just a small snippet of the detailed information on Ballotpedia for each state. You can check out our deep dive into Florida’s 2024 elections here and South Carolina’s 2024 elections here.

Also, make sure to check our hub page, linked below, for future installments of the series.

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