In 2024, voters in ten states—Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota—decided on 11 abortion-related ballot measures in Nov. 2024. This is the most on record for a single year.
Ten addressed state constitutional rights to abortion. Voters approved seven of them in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, New York, and Nevada, while three were defeated in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
One, in Nebraska, to limit the timeframe for when an abortion can be performed was approved.
Regarding the political action committees (PACs) registered to support or oppose the ballot measures, 12 PACs described themselves as pro-choice or pro-reproductive rights (hereafter, pro-choice campaigns), and 24 PACs described themselves as pro-life (hereafter, pro-life campaigns).
As per the latest campaign finance reports, the pro-choice campaigns reported $246.9 million in contributions, while pro-life campaigns reported $30.2 million in contributions. In total, the pro-choice campaigns received 8.16 times more in contributions than pro-life campaigns.
The most expensive abortion-related ballot measure was Florida Amendment 4. Through Oct. 31, 2024, the campaign supporting the amendment reported $118.6 million in contributions and $117.5 million in expenditures, while the campaigns opposing the amendment reported $12.0 million in contributions and $10.7 in expenditures. The measure was defeated, with 57% voting ‘yes’ and 43% voting ‘no.’ In Florida, constitutional amendments need a 60% supermajority to pass, so while the majority of voters approved the amendment, it still did not receive the threshold of votes required to pass.
Several organizations donated across multiple campaigns supporting pro-choice campaigns, including the Fairness Project, The Sixteen Thirty Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Advocacy Action Fund, and Think Big America. The organization contributing the most funds across multiple states was the Fairness Project, contributing more than $22.3 million to abortion ballot measure campaigns in Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Montana, and Nebraska.
Seven out of eight of the abortion-related ballot measures that were approved by voters were supported by campaigns that reported more in contributions than the opposing campaigns. In Nebraska, two measures were on the ballot—Initiative 434, supported by pro-life PACs and Initiative 439, supported by pro-choice PACs. In Nebraska’s case, Initiative 434 was approved by voters, and Initiative 439 was rejected by voters, with the pro-life PACs reporting $11.9 million in contributions, while the pro-choice PACs reported $13.2 million in contributions.
For the other two measures that were rejected, the pro-choice PACs supporting Amendment 4 in Florida reported 9.8 times more contributions than the pro-life PACs. Meanwhile, South Dakota was the only state where pro-life PACs reported more in contributions than pro-choice PACs, with pro-choice PACs reporting $647,665 in contributions while pro-life PACs reported $1.1 million in contributions.
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