Citizen-led abortion initiatives could be on the ballot in nine states come November amid increased efforts to put abortion rights questions to voters since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and removed the nationwide right to abortion in 2022, reported the Boston Herald.
Voters in Colorado, South Dakota, and Florida will already have a say on abortion rights this fall after enough signatures were collected to put measures on ballots in both states.
In Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, and Nevada, coalitions are still "collecting signatures or awaiting state approval on their measures," according to the Herald.
"The whole idea of the initiative process is to put pressure on state lawmakers when there appears to be support for an issue that the median voter in the electorate might want but the median lawmaker doesn't want," Daniel Smith, a professor and chair of the political science department at the University of Florida who has authored books and papers on ballot initiatives, told the news outlet.
Citizen-initiated measures are written by citizen groups and are placed on the ballot if they receive enough signatures.
The Florida Supreme Court issued rulings in early April allowing the state's voters to decide whether to protect abortion rights and legalize recreational use of marijuana, rejecting the state attorney general's arguments that the measures should be kept off the November ballot.
The court's ruling came the same day it upheld the state's ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. State lawmakers had tightened the ban to six weeks while the issue was still in court. Monday's ruling, therefore, likely paves the way for the six-week ban to go into effect.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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