Tuesday's midterm elections were a huge sweep for Democrats, among other takeaways. And across 39 states — plus Washington, D.C. and the Northern Mariana Islands — voters weighed in on 146 statewide ballot measures spanning issues from taxes to transgender rights to traffic cameras to data centers and AI. Three states moved to preserve abortion access The U.S.
Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, leaving the legality and regulation of abortion up to each state. In subsequent elections, over a dozen states have put access to abortion on their ballots — and overwhelmingly moved to secure it.
This year, four states considered abortion measures. Three passed, while Idaho voted to preserve the state's abortion ban from 2022. In Missouri, voters rejected a Republican-led amendment that would have banned abortion with few exceptions.
The move affirms support for abortion just two years after voters mobilized to reject Missouri's ban, which was one of the strictest in the country. Nevada residents voted to enshrine abortion up to the point of viability in their constitution. They did so for the second election in a row, since state law requires a proposed constitutional amendment to pass twice.
Virginians voted to create a "fundamental right to reproductive freedom" in their constitution. That includes the right to an abortion during the first two trimesters (and afterward in certain cases), as well as the right to contraception, fertility, postpartum care and more. Many states considered changes to how they run their elections.
It was too early to call Wednesday afternoon whether voters had approved some of the more far-reaching changes, in Alaska and Arizona. Other states — including Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio — passed measures toughening identification requirements for voters, while California voted against such an effort. Several states — including Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota and West Virginia — approved measures reinforcing that U.S. citizenship is required to vote in their elections.
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