Voters in Four States Will Decide Abortion Questions as 145 Statewide Measures Head to the Ballot
Voters will weigh 145 statewide ballot measures in November, according to NPR, which cited Ballotpedia for the count. Abortion is on the ballot in four states, and many of the most closely watched measures deal with abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, taxes and voting.
Missouri's measure is the one that reverses the most recent major change. In November 2024, Missouri voters approved an amendment that protected reproductive health care, including abortion through fetal viability, and nullified one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. Arizona and Nevada voters also advanced abortion rights protections that year.
Missouri's Republican-led legislature put abortion back before voters in 2026. The question is designated Amendment 3 and combines two subjects in a single measure: a near-total ban on abortion and prohibitions on gender-affirming medical treatments for minors. As written, the amendment would prohibit abortions except in cases of medical emergency, fetal anomaly, rape or incest, according to ABC News. It would also repeal the 2024 amendment. Missouri residents will vote on it on November 3.
Abortion is legal in Nevada and Virginia, and voters in both states will have the chance to write those rights into their state constitutions. In Idaho, a vote could overturn that state's near-total ban on abortion.
Other social issues are also on the ballot. In Virginia, voters are deciding whether to replace the state's old same-sex marriage ban with an amendment that defines marriage as between any two adults, regardless of race, sex or gender. Vermont has a proposal to amend its constitution with an equal protection clause that would guarantee rights based on gender identity and gender expression. Arizona and Colorado have proposals to ban transgender students from girls' school and college sports.
Taxes are another major thread. In California, Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on billionaires who were residents of the state on January 1, 2026. The tax revenue would fund health care and education, according to CalMatters. In Washington State, voters will decide whether to repeal the state's 9.9% tax. Washington's ballot also includes Initiative 638, which would prohibit transgender participation-related rights, according to ABC News.
Reuters reported on October 28 that voters in more than three dozen states will decide around 150 ballot measures in the 2026 midterms.
