On Tuesday, voters in five states will decide abortion-related ballot measures, including in California and Michigan. In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the responsibility to regulate abortion has been returned back to the states. Lawmakers and citizens in several states responded by putting abortion on the ballot. Voters in Kansas already rejected an anti-abortion state constitutional amendment in August.
Additionally, voters in five states will decide whether or not to legalize marijuana, and in seven states voters will weigh in on voting laws, according to Ballotpedia.
On abortion:
- Californians will have the option to amend their state constitution to add language on “reproductive freedom” that says people would have the “right to an abortion and a right to contraceptives.”
- In Michigan, voters will decide whether to add to the state constitution a “new individual right to reproductive freedom, including the right to make all decisions about pregnancy and abortion.” But the proposal also says the state can “regulate abortion after fetal viability, but not prohibit if medically needed to protect a patient’s life or physical or mental health.”
- Vermonters will vote on whether to add language to the state’s constitution that reads, “an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course and shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling state interest.”
- The ballot measure in Kentucky would amend the state’s constitution to say that nothing in the constitution guarantees the right to abortion or government funding for an abortion, which is similar to a ballot measure in Kansas that failed earlier this year.
- In Montana, voters will weigh in on a ballot measure that says a baby born alive at any stage of development must be provided medical care.
Besides abortion, the big issue for states this year is whether or not to legalize marijuana. While federal law still outlaws possession of the drug, recreational marijuana use is already legal in 19 states. This year, five states will decide whether or not to legalize the drug, including Arkansas, Missouri, Maryland, North Dakota and South Dakota.
In seven states, voting is on the ballot this year. In Nevada, voters will get to decide if they want open primaries and ranked choice voting. Other states are looking at changes related to early voting, voter ID laws and noncitizen voting.