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Voters across the United States delivered significant results on abortion rights and congressional redistricting on Tuesday, deciding 145 ballot measures across more than three dozen states. The votes served as a political sideshow to a high-profile midterm election in which Democrats took control of Congress and made gains in state legislatures and governor’s offices.
Abortion Rights Advance in Several States
Missouri voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have reimposed abortion restrictions. Two years ago, Missouri became the first state in the nation to overturn an existing abortion ban through a ballot measure. The Republican-led legislature then referred a revised, less restrictive ban to this year’s ballot. That measure would have permitted abortions only in medical emergencies, cases of fetal anomaly, or rape and incest up to 12 weeks. Abortion-rights groups, backed by national progressive organizations, heavily outspent opponents to defeat it.
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In Virginia, voters approved a constitutional amendment establishing a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” protecting abortion access through the first two trimesters. The amendment also guarantees rights to contraception and fertility care. Meanwhile, Nevada voters approved a similar amendment protecting abortion until fetal viability, generally around 21 weeks. The Nevada measure had cleared an initial vote in 2024 and required Tuesday’s second approval to take effect.
However, not every abortion-rights measure succeeded. Voters in Republican-leaning Idaho rejected a measure that would have created abortion protections in state law. Idaho currently bans most abortions except to save the mother’s life or in early pregnancy following a reported rape or incest. Since the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to abortion in 2022, voters in more than one-fifth of states have approved ballot measures protecting abortion access.
Voters Push Back on Redistricting Efforts
Nine states used new congressional maps in the midterm elections following a wave of mid-decade redistricting encouraged by President Donald Trump. Missouri voters rejected new Republican-drawn House districts designed to help the GOP gain a seat in the Kansas City area. Courts had blocked those maps from use after the August primary unless voters approved them in November. Voters declined to do so.
In Maryland, voters approved a constitutional amendment that could allow new congressional maps ahead of the 2028 election. Democratic supporters, including former President Barack Obama, urged a yes vote as a way to counter Trump’s redistricting push. In Colorado, a citizen initiative on the ballot would prevent any future redistricting from favoring one party and require approval from both an independent commission and the state Supreme Court.
Voter ID and Transgender Measures Produce Mixed Results
Citizen activists placed new voter ID requirements on the ballot in California, Colorado, and Nevada, bypassing Democratic-led legislatures. California and Colorado voters defeated those measures. Opponents in California linked the proposal to Trump, helping defeat it. In contrast, voter ID amendments passed in Ohio, North Carolina, and Nevada, where Republican-led legislatures had referred the measures.
On transgender issues, Nebraska voters approved adding existing medical restrictions for transgender minors to the state constitution. Arizona voters extended public school sports restrictions to private schools. Colorado and Washington also considered similar measures. Most Republican-led states already bar transgender women and girls from female school sports teams.
In Florida, voters approved a property tax exemption that will triple for non-school taxes next year and rise to $250,000 by 2028. Local officials warned the change could force cuts to police, fire departments, libraries, and parks.
