WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion access up to fetal viability. Though there’s no defined time frame for viability, doctors say it’s sometime after 21 weeks. It’s a major win for abortion-rights supporters in the presidential battleground state who sought to expand access beyond 15 weeks. The citizen-led initiative far outpaced the opposition campaign in fundraising. Earlier this year, the Arizona Supreme Court allowed the enforcement of an 1864 law banning nearly all abortions, but then the Legislature quickly repealed it. The Associated Press declared the measure approved at 3:31 a.m. EST Wednesday.
الوسم: abortion
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AP Race Call: Nevada voters approve constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights
WASHINGTON (AP) — A ballot question to enshrine Nevada’s abortion rights in the state constitution received its first nod of approval from voters. Voters must also approve the ballot question in 2026 in order to amend the state constitution. The political action committee Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom organized the ballot initiative and gathered enough signatures to put the question before voters. Although a 1990 state law makes abortion available up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, supporters in Nevada and elsewhere have been pressing to strengthen abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The Associated Press declared that the question was approved at 3:21 a.m. EST Wednesday.
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Will abortion prompt Arizona voters to lean more Democratic?
Abortion is on the ballot in Arizona and nine other states during the US general election. Will it sway voters? -
AP Race Call: Nebraska voters approve constitutional amendment enshrining 12-week abortion ban
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nebraska voters approved a ballot measure to write the state’s current 12-week abortion ban into the state constitution. It also allows for a stricter ban to be imposed. The abortion restriction measure was one of two competing abortion measures to appear on the ballot. The other measure would enshrine in the Nebraska Constitution the right to have an abortion until viability, or later to protect the health of the pregnant woman. Though there’s no defined time frame for viability, doctors say it’s sometime after 21 weeks. Nebraska is the first state to carry competing abortion amendments on the same ballot since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, which ended a national right to abortion. The Associated Press declared the initiative was approved at 1:02 a.m. EST Wednesday.
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AP Race Call: Missouri voters approve constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights
WASHINGTON (AP) — Missouri voters approved a measure on Tuesday that enshrines abortion rights in the state constitution and replaces a near-total ban on the procedure. The measure guarantees a person’s right to get an abortion and make other reproductive health decisions. It opens the door to legal challenges of a ban on most abortions that took effect immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The measure made the ballot after an intense legal fight led by anti-abortion advocates who sought to prevent a vote.
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Florida votes against amendment enshrining abortion rights into state constitution | US elections 2024
Florida voters defeated a measure to enshrine abortion access into the state constitution, a devastating blow for advocates who had hoped to roll back the state’s six-week abortion ban and continue their now-broken streak of ballot-measure victories.
A total of 10 states voted on abortion-related ballot initiatives on Tuesday. Results are forthcoming in seven states, four of which could overturn post-Roe v Wade abortion bans and restore access. New York and Maryland passed ballot measures to expand their states’ protections for abortion and cement their status as abortion havens.
Given that abortion is one of the top issues in the 2024 election, Democrats had hoped these measures would boost turnout among their base. But while many of the outstanding measures appear on track to pass, including in swing states like Nevada and Arizona, polls suggest a chunk of voters are effectively splitting their votes by supporting both abortion rights and Republicans.
Out of all the abortion-related measures, the Florida initiative – known as amendment 4 – was long considered the most difficult to pass. Unlike other measures, which only require a simple majority – or, in the case of Colorado, 55% of the vote – to pass, the Florida measure needed to garner 60% of the vote. At the time it was called by the Associated Press, the Florida measure had amassed a clear majority, with 57% of the vote.
The Florida result is a bitter pill for abortion rights supporters, shattering a string of successes at the ballot box. Advocates have won abortion-related ballot measures in seven states since Roe was overturned.
After the US supreme court overturned Roe in 2022, Florida became a refuge for people fleeing the abortion bans that now blanket the rest of the US south, before its six-week ban took effect in May of this year.
Had the Florida measure passed on Tuesday, it would have protected the right to abortion up until fetal viability, or about 24 weeks into pregnancy.
In the weeks leading up to election day, Florida Republicans alarmed civil rights and voting rights groups by unleashing a wave of attacks on the measure. Law enforcement officials investigated people who signed a petition to get the measure onto the ballot, while the state’s agency for healthcare administration put up a webpage attacking the amendment. The health department also sent cease-and-desist letters to local TV stations that aired an advertisement supporting the measure, prompting the measure’s organizers to sue.
“Florida’s deadly abortion ban is out of line with the values of our state,” said Lauren Brenzel, manager of the campaign for the amendment, Yes on 4 Florida, in a statement. “Florida voters sent that message loud and clear today, and despite the fact that only a minority of voters voted to retain the abortion ban our extremist government will exploit the situation to deny its own constituents the right to decide on our bodily autonomy.”
Read more of the Guardian’s 2024 US election coverage
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Ten states where abortion rights are on the ballot this election day | US elections 2024
Americans in 10 US states are voting on Tuesday on whether to enshrine the right to abortion into their state constitutions.
In some states, like Arizona and Florida, they have the opportunity to overturn bans that state legislatures passed after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade in June 2022, doing away with the federal right to an abortion. In others, like Colorado and New York, they are voting on whether to boost protections for the procedure and make them harder to roll back in the event conservatives take power. And in one state – Nebraska – two competing measures will ask voters to choose between enshrining an existing 12-week ban or replacing it with more expansive abortion protections.
Since Roe was overturned, seven states have held abortion-related ballot referendums, and abortion rights supporters have won all of them. The results of Tuesday’s measure will not be the final word; states that vote to overturn bans will see litigation or legislation before those bans are repealed. But taken together, the results will indicate how potent the issue remains after two years without Roe.
Results will begin rolling in after 8pm ET, when the final polls close in Florida, Missouri and Maryland. However, it could take days for a complete tally of all of the votes.
Arizona
Abortion rights supporters in Arizona, a key battleground state in the presidential election, are vying to pass a measure that would enshrine the right to abortion until fetal viability, or about 24 weeks, in the state constitution. Abortion is currently banned in the state after 15 weeks.
Colorado
Colorado’s measure, which needs to garner 55% of the vote, would amend the state constitution to block the state government from denying, impeding or discriminating against individuals’ “right to abortion”. There is currently no gestational limit on the right to abortion in the state.
Florida
Florida’s measure would roll back the state’s six-week ban by adding the right to an abortion up until viability to the state’s constitution. It needs 60% of the vote to pass.
Maryland
Legislators, rather than citizens, initiated Maryland’s measure, which would amend the state constitution to confirm individuals’ “right to reproductive freedom, including but not limited to the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end the individual’s pregnancy”. There is currently no gestational limit on the right to abortion in the state.
Missouri
Voters will decide whether to overturn the state’s current, near-total abortion ban and establish a constitutional guarantee to the “fundamental right to reproductive freedom”, including abortion care until fetal viability.
Montana
Abortion in Montana is currently legal. If passed, the measure would amend the state constitution to explicitly include “a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion” up until fetal viability, or after viability to protect a patient’s life or health.
Nebraska
Nebraska is the lone state with two competing ballot measures. If both measures pass, the measure that garners the most votes would take effect.
The first would enshrine the right to abortion up until viability into the state constitution.
The second would enshrine the current 12-week ban.
Nevada
Nevada’s measure would amend the state constitution to protect the right to abortion up until viability, or after viability in cases where a patient’s health or life may be threatened.
New York
New York state legislators added a measure to the ballot to broaden the state’s anti-discrimination laws by adding, among other things, protections against discrimination on the basis of “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive health”. It does not explicitly reference abortion, but advocates say its pregnancy-related language encompasses abortion protections. Abortion is protected in New York until fetal viability.
South Dakota
South Dakota’s measure is less sweeping than other abortion rights measures, because it would only protect the right to abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. Although this measure will appear on the ballot, there will be a trial over the validity of the signatures that were collected for it. Depending out the outcome of the trial, the measure – and any votes cast for it – could be invalidated.
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Trump snaps at reporter when asked about abortion: ‘Stop talking about that’
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump is refusing to say how he voted on Florida’s abortion measure — and getting testy about it.
The former president was asked twice after casting his ballot in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday about a question that the state’s voters are considering. If approved, it would prevent state lawmakers from passing any law that penalizes, prohibits, delays or restricts abortion until fetal viability — which doctors say is sometime after 21 weeks.
If it’s rejected, the state’s restrictive six-week abortion law would stand.
The first time he was asked, Trump avoided answering. He said instead of the issue that he did “a great job bringing it back to the states.” That was a reference to the former president having appointed three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who helped overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 2022.
Pressed a second time, Trump snapped at a reporter, saying they “should just stop talking about that.”
Trump had previously indicated that he would back the measure — but then changed his mind and said he would vote against it.
In August, Trump said he thought Florida’s ban was a mistake, saying on Fox News Channel, “I think six weeks, you need more time.” But then he said, “at the same time, the Democrats are radical” while repeating false claims he has frequently made about late-term abortions.
In addition to Florida, voters in eight other states are deciding whether their state constitutions should guarantee a right to abortion, weighing ballot measures that are expected to spur turnout for a range of crucial races.
Passing certain amendments in Arizona, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota likely would lead to undoing bans or restrictions that currently block varying levels of abortion access to more than 7 million women of childbearing age who live in those states.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that Trump told a reporter to “stop talking about that,” not “stop talking about it.”
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Justices who split on an abortion measure ruling vie to lead Arkansas Supreme Court
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Two justices who split on whether Arkansas voters should have the chance to scale back the state’s abortion ban are both vying to lead the state Supreme Court, though the election won’t affect the court’s conservative tilt.
Justices Rhonda Wood and Karen Baker are running to replace Chief Justice Dan Kemp in Tuesday’s election, where the state’s four congressmen are fending off challenges from Democratic candidates.
Voters will also be asked to approve a constitutional amendment that would revoke the license issued by a state panel for a casino.
A historic race for chief justice
No matter if Wood or Baker wins, history will be made: For the first time, Arkansas will elect a woman to chief justice of its Supreme Court.
The two justices were on opposites sides of the debate over whether to keep a measure on the ballot that would have scaled back an Arkansas law banning nearly all abortions.
Wood wrote the court’s 4-3 majority opinion that upheld the state’s decision to reject petitions submitted in favor of the proposal. The court ruled sponsors of the measure did not comply with paperwork requirements for paid signature gatherers.
In a blistering dissent, Baker asked: “Why are the respondent and the majority determined to keep this particular vote from the people?”
Though the seats are nonpartisan, Wood is running with the endorsement of the Republican Party of Arkansas’ state committee, Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and GOP Sen. Tom Cotton. Conservatives are already ensured a 5-2 majority on the court, with Sanders slated to fill two vacancies on the seven-member court after the election.
Arkansas has had one woman serve as chief justice, but Betty Dickey was appointed to the post by former Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2003, not elected.
Republicans look to defend U.S. House seats
All four of Arkansas’ Republican congressmen are fending off challenges from Democrats who are trying to break the GOP’s hold on all of the state’s federal seats.
Rep. Rick Crawford is running against Democrat Rodney Govens for the 1st District, which covers east Arkansas. Crawford was first elected in 2010 to represent the district, which includes Jonesboro and West Memphis. He is a senior member of the House Agriculture Committee and has said he’ll seek the top Republican spot on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Govens is a Cabot resident who has worked in the telecommunications industry. Libertarian nominee Steve Parsons is also running.
Rep. French Hill faces Democrat Marcus Jones in the race for the 2nd District, which includes Little Rock and surrounding areas. Hill was first elected to the seat in 2014 and is vice chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Jones is a retired Army colonel who served as senior Army adviser to the Arkansas Army National Guard at Camp Robinson.
In northwest Arkansas’ 3rd District Rep. Steve Womack is running against Democrat Caitlin Draper, a clinical social worker. Womack was first elected in 2010 to the district, which includes Fayetteville and Fort Smith. Libertarian Bobby Wilson is also running. Womack, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, fended off a challenge in the Republican primary earlier this year from a state legislator.
And in the 4th District, which covers south Arkansas, Rep. Bruce Westerman is running against Democrat Risie Howard, an attorney from Pine Bluff. Westerman was first elected to the U.S. House in 2014 and chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources.
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Voters decide the fate of planned casino
A measure on the ballot in Arkansas could block the last of four casinos that voters approved in what has become a battle between the Cherokee and Choctaw nations.
The proposed constitutional amendment would revoke a license the state issued to Cherokee Nation Entertainment to build a casino in Pope County. Choctaw Nation has spent more than $17 million on the campaign for the proposal.
Pope County was one of four sites where casinos were allowed to be built under a constitutional amendment that voters approved in 2018. Casinos have already been set up in the other three locations. Cherokee Nation Businesses has spent more than $12 million on the campaign against the amendment.
Other proposals that would have scaled back the state’s abortion ban and expanded its medical marijuana program were blocked from the ballot by state election officials.
Another measure that the state Legislature voted to place on the ballot would allow proceeds from the state’s lottery to be used to fund scholarships at vocational and technical schools.
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West Virginians’ governor choices stand on opposite sides of the abortion debate
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginians on Tuesday will choose between a Republican candidate for governor endorsed by former President Donald Trump who has defended abortion restrictions in court and a Democratic mayor who has fought to put the issue on the ballot for voters to decide.
Both Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams have played an outsized role in fighting the drug crisis in the state with the highest rate of opioid overdose deaths in the country. But their similarities are few.
When it comes to abortion, the two couldn’t be more different.
Since he was elected attorney general in 2012, Morrisey, 56, has led litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors netting around $1 billion to abate the crisis that has led to 6,000 children living in foster care in a state of around 1.8 million.
A self-described “conservative fighter,” Morrisey has also used his role to lead on issues important to the national GOP. Those include defending a law preventing transgender youth from participating in sports and a scholarship program passed by lawmakers that would incentivize parents to pull their kids from traditional public school and enroll them in private education or homeschooling.
Key to his candidacy has been his role in defending a near-total ban on abortions passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2022 and going to court to restrict West Virginians’ access to abortion pills.
In a statement after a U.S. District Court judge blocked access to abortion pills in 2023, Morrisey vowed to “always stand strong for the life of the unborn.”
Former Huntington city manager and House of Delegates member Williams, 60, has worked to change his city from the “epicenter of the heroin epidemic in America” to one known for solutions to help people with substance use disorder.
After being elected mayor in 2012, he instituted the state’s first citywide office of drug control policy and created a strategic plan that involved equipping first responders with the opioid overdose reversal drug Naloxone and implementing court diversion programs for sex workers and people who use drugs.
Abortion has been a key part of his campaign platform. Earlier this year, Williams collected thousands of signatures on a petition to push lawmakers to vote to put abortion on the ballot.
West Virginia is among the 25 states that do not allow citizen initiatives or constitutional amendments on a statewide ballot, an avenue of direct democracy that has allowed voters to circumvent their legislatures and preserve abortion and other reproductive rights in several states over the past two years.
Republicans have repeatedly dismissed the idea of placing an abortion-rights measure before voters, which in West Virginia is a step only lawmakers can take.
Republican leadership has pointed to a 2018 vote in which just under 52% of voters supported a constitutional amendment saying there is no right to abortion access in the state. But Williams said the vote also had to do with state funding of abortion, which someone could oppose without wanting access completely eliminated.
If elected, Morrisey would become just the third Republican elected to a first gubernatorial term in West Virginia since 1928. Outgoing two-term governor Jim Justice, now a Republican, was first elected as a Democrat in 2016. He switched parties months later at a Trump rally.
Polls statewide open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.