While the presidential race may be getting the spotlight this election season, key regulations are up for grabs in several states way down at the bottom of the ballot.
While the presidential race may be getting the spotlight this election season, key regulations, laws and policies are on the ballot in several states.
And those ballot measures could have huge ramifications for the rest of the country.
Forty-one states have a combined 147 ballot measures in the 2024 election. While some measures are hyperlocal, some state initiatives dovetail with national topics.
Here are some of the major ballot initiatives in this election.Reproductive rights
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in 2022, voters in a handful of states have turned to ballot measures to enshrine or expand reproductive access in the face of abortion bans.
Ten states in this election season will give their voters a chance to change their laws on the topic.
Arizona, Florida, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska and Nevada all have measures that would amend their state constitutions with specific language to protect or recognize the right to an abortion for all constituents.
Nebraska also has another ballot measure that would change the state constitution to prohibit abortions in the second and third trimesters except for cases of « medical emergency or when the pregnancy results from sexual assault or incest. »
New York state has a ballot measure that would change the constitution’s equal rights amendment to protect against discrimination for pregnancy outcomes, including abortion.
South Dakota voters will decide on a measure that would establish a right to an abortion and add an amendment to the state constitution that would determine when the state may regulate abortions.
Vice President Kamala Harris has repeatedly called for the restoration of the reproductive rights established by Roe v. Wade.
Former President Donald Trump, who has taken credit for helping overturn Roe v. Wade, has said on the campaign trail that the states should decide abortion access and indicated he will vote « no » on Florida’s ballot initiative.
Illinois voters will decide on a measure that would advise state officials on whether to provide for medically assisted reproductive treatments, including in vitro fertilization, to be covered by any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides full coverage to pregnancy benefits.
