Voters approved most referendums expanding abortion rights in U.S. states on Tuesday, while Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota rejected such measures. These rejections marked the first victories for anti-abortion advocates since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal right to abortion in 2022.
In Florida, a proposal to amend the state constitution to guarantee abortion rights fell short of the 60% vote threshold needed to pass, Edison Research projected on Tuesday.
In Nebraska, voters faced two competing ballot measures. They approved a measure enshrining the state’s current 12-week abortion ban, with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother, The Associated Press projected. At the same time, they rejected a measure that would have added abortion rights to the state constitution, according to the AP.
South Dakota voters rejected a proposed amendment to guarantee abortion rights in the state constitution, The Associated Press projected. South Dakota currently bans abortion with few exceptions.
Edison projected that voters would approve abortion rights measures in Arizona, Missouri, Nevada, Colorado, New York, Maryland, and Montana. The Missouri measure stood out as a significant victory, marking the first time voters in a state with a total abortion ban approved a constitutional amendment to guarantee abortion rights through fetal viability. While the measure’s passage will not automatically overturn the state’s ban, abortion rights advocates now expect a legal battle that could restore abortion access within months.
Before Tuesday’s elections, seven states had put abortion rights directly to voters following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. Abortion rights campaigns had won all those elections.
In Florida, Edison Research reported that the abortion rights measure received 57% of the vote with 95% of ballots counted. However, because it failed to meet the 60% threshold, the state’s ban on abortions after six weeks, which went into effect in May, will remain in place. Florida’s six-week ban includes few exceptions.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, hailed Florida’s result as “a momentous victory.” She also celebrated the results in Nebraska and South Dakota, thanking politicians such as South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen.
Anna Hochkammer, director of the Florida Women’s Freedom Coalition, which supported the measure, pointed out that 57% of voters still represented a majority. “The fight goes on because the women and girls of Florida continue to suffer,” she said.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, had worked to build support for Tuesday’s ballot measures, which proposed amending state constitutions to enshrine the right to abortion. Democrats blamed the Republican Party, led by former President Donald Trump, for the abortion bans that many of the measures sought to overturn. More than a dozen states banned abortion in all or most cases after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, appointed by Trump, gutted the federal right to abortion.
Trump, a Florida resident, stated that he would vote against the ballot measure after initially suggesting he would vote in favor.
