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    • How states voted on Election Day 2024
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    How states voted on Election Day 2024

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    This Election daycitizens of US states had opportunities to vote not only on their choice for the next president, but also on contentious issues including marijuana legalization and abortion.

    This year, 10 states — Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York and South Dakota — had abortion measures on the ballot, with Nebraska taking the distinction of having two dueling propositions.

    Most of these ballot initiatives would either have allowed abortion up to fetal viability, which is about 24 weeks, or would have enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution.

    Other states, which already have a number of abortion laws, have submitted constitutional amendments for votes that would enact a variety of protections related to abortion and reproductive care.

    In South Dakota, voters weighed whether abortion should be protected in the first trimester. In New York, voters were asked to decide whether the state’s anti-discrimination law should be expanded to include protections based on “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive health.”

    After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed abortion rights at the federal level in June 2022, states have enacted a series of laws. At least 14 have implemented near-total abortion bans, while others have enshrined the right to access abortion in state law or passed protective laws protecting patients from other states who travel to obtain the procedure.

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    During the 2022 midterm elections, there were five related to abortion ballot measures. Voters in California, Michigan, Vermont, Kentucky and Montana chose to pass measures that would have maintained access to abortion. That same year, voters in Kansas rejected a constitutional amendment banning abortion.

    In the 2023 off-election, voters in the red state of Ohio passed Issue 1, a ballot measure that established abortion rights in the state constitution.

    Now, voters had the chance to overturn some of the nation’s most restrictive bans, including Florida’s six-week ban, or leave existing laws in place.

    Here’s every proposed abortion measure that appeared on the ballot and how states voted, according to roll call results from the Associated Press.

    Arizona: Proposition 139

    What was on the ballot: The Arizona’s Abortion Access Act, appearing on the ballot as Proposition 139, would amend the Arizona Constitution to add a fundamental right to abortion.

    It was passed: Yes

    What’s happening now: Proposition 139 repeals Arizona’s 15-week ban, preventing the state government from restricting abortion before the fetus is viable outside the womb, as determined by a health care professional. It also allows abortion after viability (usually around 24 weeks) to protect the life, physical or mental health of the pregnant person, and prohibits laws that penalize people for aiding or assisting a person exercising their right to an abortion.

    Because voters passed the measure, it will go into effect and reverse a policy that banned abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

    Colorado: 79th Amendment

    What was on the ballot: of Colorado Abortion Rights and the Health Insurance Coverage Initiativeor Amendment 79, would amend the state constitution to enshrine the right to abortion and allow the use of public funds for abortion.

    It was passed: Yes

    What’s happening now: Amendment 79 prohibits state and local governments from denying, preventing, or discriminating against access to abortion and allows abortions to be covered by state health insurance plans. Before the vote, Colorado was already one of nine states that allow abortion at any point in pregnancy.

    Because voters passed the measure, it will go into effect. Abortion remains legal.

    Florida: Amendment 4

    What was on the ballot: of Florida The Right to Abortion Initiativeor Amendment 4, would overturn Florida’s six-week ban and amend the Florida Bill of Rights to prohibit restrictions on abortion before viability or when deemed necessary by a physician to protect the patient’s health.

    It was passed: Not. Measure earned 57.1% of “Yes” votes. with 99% of the votes counted, which is below the 60% needed to pass.

    What’s happening now: Amendment 4 leaves in place a current constitutional provision that allows a law requiring parents to be notified before a minor can obtain an abortion, but adds language to the Florida Constitution that says, “… no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay or restrict abortion before viability. or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”

    Because voters rejected the measure, the laws will remain the same.

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    Maryland: Question 1

    What was on the ballot: Question 1 of Maryland, or Amendment regarding the right to freedom of reproductionwould enshrine the right to “reproductive freedom” in the state constitution.

    It was passed: Yes

    what is happening now: Maryland law already allows abortion up to viability and after viability in cases of danger to the mother’s life and health or fetal abnormality. Question 1 would amend the Maryland Bill of Rights to ensure “reproductive freedom,” defined to include “the ability to make and carry out decisions to prevent, continue, or terminate one’s own pregnancy.”

    Because voters passed the measure, it will go into effect. Abortion remains legal in Maryland.

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    Missouri: 3rd Amendment

    What was on the ballot: from Missouri The Right to Freedom of Reproduction InitiativeAmendment 3, would add the fundamental right to “reproductive freedom” to the state constitution.

    It was passed: Yes

    what is happening now: Amendment 3 repeals the state’s near-total ban on abortion, establishing the right to make decisions about reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives, without government intervention, while allowing abortion to be restricted or prohibited after fetal viability, except for to protect the woman’s life or health. It also prevents the government from discriminating against people who provide or obtain reproductive health care.

    Because voters passed the measure, it will go into effect. Abortion is currently prohibited in Missouri, with a few exceptions.

    Montana: CI-128

    What was on the ballot: of Montana The Right to Abortion Initiative, or CI-128, would amend the state constitution to guarantee the right to “make and execute decisions about one’s pregnancy, including the right to abortion.”

    It was passed: Yes

    what is happening now: CI-128 enshrines the “state constitutional right to make and make decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion” and prohibits the government from sanctioning, prosecuting, or taking any adverse action against a person, on based on the results of the pregnancy, or against any person who aids or assists another person in obtaining an abortion. It allows the current law allowing abortion until viability and after it is “medically indicated to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient” to remain in place.

    Because voters passed the measure, it will go into effect. The amendment maintains the current law where abortion remains legal.

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    Nebraska: Initiative 434 and Initiative 439

    What was on the ballot: Nebraska had two dueling abortion initiatives for the vote on the November ballot.

    Initiative 434 or Ban abortions after the first trimester amendment, was a measure to amend the state constitution to ban abortions after the first trimester except in cases of medical emergency, sexual assault or incest.

    Negatively, Nebraska’s Initiative 439, The Right to Abortion Initiative, would amend the state constitution to ensure the right to abortion until fetal viability.

    The measures were adopted: Initiative 434 was passed. Initiative 439 did not pass.

    What’s happening now:

    • The passage of Initiative 434 enshrines the ban on abortions after the first trimester in the state constitution.
    • Because Initiative 439 did not pass, an amendment will not be added to the Nebraska Constitution to protect the right to abortion until fetal viability.

    Nevada: Question 6

    What was on the ballot: of Nevada The Right to Abortion Initiative, or Question 6would amend the state constitution to add the right to abortion up to viability and the health or life of the mother after that point.

    It was passed: Yes.

    What’s happening now: State law already allows abortions up to 24 weeks. Voters would have to approve the measure a second time in 2026 to formally amend the constitution.

    New York: Proposition 1

    What was on the ballot: from New York Equal Protection of Law Amendmentor Proposition 1would amend the New York Bill of Rights to dictate that no one’s rights may be denied on a variety of specified grounds, including “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive health care and autonomy.”

    It was passed: Yes

    What’s happening now: New York’s Proposition 1 amends the Equal Protection Clause of the New York Constitution to prohibit discrimination against or violation of a person’s civil rights by any other person, firm, corporation, institution or governmental entity based on “sex, including sexual orientation, identity gender, sex”. expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and reproductive health care and autonomy.” This leaves intact New York’s current law that allows abortion up to 24 weeks and after 24 weeks for the absence of fetal viability or to protect the life or health of the patient.

    Because voters passed the measure, it will go into effect. Abortion remains legal in New York.

    South Dakota: Constitutional Amendment G

    What was on the ballot: from South Dakota The Right to Abortion Initiativeor Constitutional Amendment Git would overturn the state’s near-total ban and add the right to abortion to the state constitution.

    It was passed: Not

    What’s happening now: Because voters rejected the measure, the laws will remain the same. Abortion is currently prohibited in South Dakota, with a few exceptions.

    Credit: Reuters

    Mary Walrath-Holdridge is a trends reporter for USA TODAY. Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.

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