Ohio voted against a Republican-backed measure aimed at making it more difficult to amend the state’s constitution.
The rejected measure, known as Issue 1, was the only question in Ohio’s special election and would have altered the threshold for passing amendments from 50% to 60%. Democrats claimed that the measure was an effort by Republicans to block an abortion amendment that will be on the ballot in November.
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While Ohio has been the only state to have an abortion measure on the ballot this year, multiple other states are looking to have abortion-related questions put to a vote in 2024.
South Dakota
In South Dakota, there is a total abortion ban except in cases of life endangerment.
Dakotans for Health, the organizers behind a potential 2024 ballot measure, are collecting signatures for an amendment that would allow a woman to opt for an abortion in the first trimester.
In order for the measure to make it onto the 2024 ballot, the motion must gather verified signatures equal to 10% of the turnout in the previous gubernatorial election, and the exact amount will be determined on Nov. 5.
Missouri
Abortion is banned except in cases of medical emergency in Missouri, with the state’s trigger law taking effect shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
A proposed ballot initiative aims to protect abortion rights and access to birth control, backed by a group called Missourians for Constitutional Freedom. The measure needs over 100,000 signatures from voters to make the ballot next fall.
The measure faced multiple lawsuits, and is currently in the middle of another one filed this week. State Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who opposes abortion, argued the cost of reinstating abortion rights is too high from the state’s auditor estimate, and federal funding for programs like Medicaid would be at risk.
However, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled against Bailey’s recusal of the state auditor’s funding estimate and said he was not justified in his “refusal to perform the plain, unequivocal, and ministerial duty of approving those summaries,” meaning the ballot effort will continue.
Two Republican lawmakers filed a lawsuit this week claiming the audit doesn't accurately show the cost of reinstating abortion.
Florida
In one of the nation's strictest measures, GOP presidential hopeful Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a bill passed by the Republican-dominated legislature banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy in April.
Floridians Protecting Freedom, backed by Planned Parenthood, launched its campaign in early May, fighting to limit government interference in abortion rights.
Organizers say they've collected almost half a million petitions as of August, according to NPR, while 891,523 certified signatures are needed to make the ballot in 2024.
Backers of a referendum are facing a possible opposing measure, called the Human Life Protection Amendment, led by an anti-abortion group called Protect Human Life Florida.
Arizona
In Arizona, abortion is currently only legal up to 15 weeks gestation. Last year, the state's appeals court upheld a 2022 law over a near-total abortion ban.
The Arizona Abortion Access Act was filed on Tuesday amid Ohio’s rejection of Issue 1. It would legalize abortion and bar penalization for someone who assists a person in getting an abortion.
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Backed by multiple advocacy organizations, such as the ACLU of Arizona and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, the proposal will need to obtain at least 383,923 verified signatures from voters by July 2024.
Like Arizona, a handful of other states are in the early process of pushing for a measure to be placed on the ballot next year, including Oklahoma, Arkansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Oklahoma.