Abortion rights: How states voted on ballot initiatives

Updated November 6, 2024 07:00 ET.

This story originally appeared as part of NPR’s live coverage of the 2024 election. For more election coverage from the NPR Network, go to our live updates page.

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Voters in Missouri overturned their state’s near-total abortion ban, while similar ballot measures in Florida and South Dakota failed to gain enough votes, leaving abortion restrictions in place. Nebraska voters have decided to support a 12-week abortion ban in the state. Meanwhile, voters in Colorado, Maryland, New York, Nevada, Arizona and Montana voted to strengthen existing abortion rights.

Here are the results:

Missouri: Missouri voters made a U-turn and approved a measure to legalize abortions up to the point of viability, which is around 24 weeks of pregnancy. Missouri was the first state to ban abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned, a ban that included no exceptions for rape or incest. “I think it was a step too far, even for a state that voted for Donald Trump by a wide margin,” says Jason Rosenbaum of St. Louis Public Radio. Read more.

South Dakota: Like Missouri, South Dakota has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country, with no exceptions for health, rape or incest. It remains so. The South Dakota ballot proposal would have allowed abortions in the first trimester but gradually limited them as the pregnancy progressed. South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s Lee Strubinger notes that anti-abortion groups called the proposal “too radical,” but local Planned Parenthood groups also did not support the ballot measure. Couldn’t get through. Read more.

Florida: A similar ballot measure in Florida also failed. The state currently prohibits abortion after 6 weeks. very narrow window of time. The ballot initiative before voters would have amended the state constitution to allow abortions before fetal viability. It required 60 percent approval to pass—a high bar. The measure failed, with 57% of voters supporting it: a majority, but not big enough to change state laws. Read more.

New York: Abortion is legal in the state, and voters have now passed an amendment that prohibits discrimination based on “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive health and autonomy.” Read more.

Maryland: Abortion, already legal in Maryland, is now protected by the constitution. Read more.

Colorado: “Colorado is already a regional hub for abortion access,” reports Colorado Public Radio’s Bente Birkeland. The amendment approved by voters would strengthen existing legal protections and also allow the state to provide public funding, such as Medicaid and public employee health insurance, for abortions. Read more.

Nevada: Nevada law protects the right to abortion for the first 24 weeks. Voters have now approved a constitutional amendment to enshrine this right in the constitution. But it won’t take effect unless voters approve the ballot initiative. again, in 2026. Read more.

Arizona: Voters approved a bill that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, repealing a law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy that the state has had in place since 2022. The state constitution will now be amended to guarantee access to abortion until fetal viability. Read more.

Nebraska: Voters chose to support the state’s 12-week abortion ban over a competing proposal that would allow abortions until fetal viability. The ordinance banning second- and third-trimester abortions is consistent with the state constitution, with some exceptions. It also allows lawmakers to further restrict access to abortion. It was the only state where voters faced two competing proposals. Read more.

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Montana: Voters approved a ballot initiative that would enshrine existing abortion rights in the state constitution. Under the new amendment, the Montana Constitution specifically prohibits the government from burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down federal abortion rights in 2022, states have had the final say on the issue. In some places, that meant Republican-led state legislatures banned or limited access to abortion, only to see voters go to the polls in support of abortion rights.