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2024 Election Ballot Measures: Abortion, Drug Policy, Elections and More

Voters weigh in on a total of 150 statewide measures.

By Helen Brewer  |  November 8, 2024

Voters in 41 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and American Samoa cast ballots on Tuesday on 150 statewide ballot measures. Of the total, 86 were legislative referrals, meaning the legislature asked for voter approval to change state statutes and constitutions; 57 were citizen initiatives, placed on state ballots by citizens who collected enough signatures to certify the measure for a vote.

Voters made their voices heard on several notable issues, including abortion, drug policy, elections and more. Some measures remain undecided as votes are still being tallied.

Abortion

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, every abortion-related ballot measure that has appeared on the ballot has been decided in favor of abortion-rights advocates. This election bucked that trend. Results on this year’s 11 abortion measures were mixed, with two states rejecting attempts to establish a state constitutional right to abortion and another state choosing between two competing abortion measures. Voters in the remaining states decided in favor of abortion-rights policies.

In one of last night’s noteworthy outcomes, Florida’s Amendment 4 became the first abortion-related measure to be decided in favor of anti-abortion advocates since Roe was overturned. Although a majority (57%) voted to protect abortion rights, it wasn’t enough; constitutional amendments need 60% voter approval to pass in Florida. Colorado’s measure, which faced a 55% threshold, passed with 60.9% approval. Voters in several other states made decisions on similar measures.

  • Nebraska voters chose between two competing measures. One sought to prohibit abortion after the first trimester; the other sought to establish a right to abortion pre-viability and when necessary to protect the mother’s life or health. Voters approved the prohibition after the first trimester and rejected the right to pre-viability abortion.
  • Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana and Nevada all passed measures establishing rights to abortion.
  • New York voters passed the Equal Protection Under Law Amendment, prohibiting discrimination based on reproductive health care decisions, including abortion.
  • Illinois voters approved a nonbinding advisory question asking whether health insurance should cover reproductive health treatments including abortion.
  • South Dakota’s measure seeking to establish a right to abortion failed.

Citizenship Voting Requirements

Voters across the nation agreed on citizenship voting requirements, with eight states passing measures to amend their constitutions to clarify that only citizens are allowed to vote. These measures passed in all eight states where they appeared on the ballot. It is already unlawful for noncitizens to vote in state and federal elections. (A handful of localities allow nonresidents or noncitizens to vote in some local elections.) Many state constitutions say, for example, “All citizens over the age of 18 can vote.” Generally, these ballot measures change “all” to “only,” clarifying that voters must be U.S. citizens. Voters in Alabama, Colorado and Florida approved citizenship voting requirements in recent years. Last night, voters in Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin joined them.

Ranked Choice Voting and Primaries

Voters in nine states and Washington, D.C., decided whether to change their state’s approach to primary elections and whether to adopt or reject ranked choice voting. In fact, these topics were linked in six states, where single ballot measures attempted to both restructure primaries and implement or prohibit ranked choice voting. The results were mixed.

Voters in several states considered measures that would either require partisan primaries or implement multiparty primaries, in which any voter can vote regardless of party affiliation, candidates representing all parties run against each other and anywhere from two to five candidates advance to the general election.

  • Alaska's ballot measure seeking to require partisan primaries remains undecided.
  • Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and South Dakota voted against adopting multiparty primaries.
  • Voters in Arizona also rejected a measure seeking to require partisan primaries, which would have functionally prohibited multiparty primaries.

Six states had measures that would allow ranked choice voting, while two had measures seeking to prohibit it. Since 2022, 10 states have prohibited the practice in statute.

  • Missouri voters approved a measure prohibiting ranked choice voting.
  • Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon voters rejected proposals to adopt ranked choice voting.
  • Washington, D.C., voters provided the only “yes” on adopting ranked choice voting.
  • Alaska’s measure seeking to prohibit ranked choice voting remains undecided.

Drug Policy

Many states have legalized some use of controlled substances—marijuana primarily—via ballot measure over the years. This trend has decreased since peaking in the 2010s, but it remains a common area of ballot measure policy. This year, voters in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota rejected measures that would have legalized recreational use of marijuana. Similar measures in North Dakota and South Dakota failed in recent years.

Meanwhile, Nebraska voters approved two measures: one legalizing medical uses of marijuana and the other establishing a state agency to regulate the industry. Nebraska joins 38 states and Puerto Rico in legalizing medical marijuana.

Lastly, Massachusetts voters rejected a measure that would have legalized some uses of some psychedelic substances. Oregon and Colorado voters approved similar measures in recent elections.

Minimum Wage and Sick Leave

Ballot measures in six states sought to update minimum wages and require paid sick leave laws.

  • Arizona voters rejected a measure that would have allowed tipped workers to make less than the minimum wage in some circumstances.
  • Nebraska and Missouri voters passed measures requiring most employers to provide a minimum amount of paid sick leave.
  • Massachusetts voters rejected a measure that would have increased the tipped wage to equal the minimum wage by 2029.
  • Alaska and Missouri voters passed minimum wage increases.
  • California’s minimum wage increase measure remains undecided.

Taxes and Bond Measures

Year after year, the most common ballot measure topic is taxes and bond measures. This year was no exception.

  • Voters in Colorado and New Mexico passed expansions to property tax exemptions available to veterans.
  • North Dakota voters rejected an attempt to eliminate all property taxes; voters rejected a similar measure in 2012.
  • Colorado voters passed a measure imposing a sales tax on firearms dealers, manufacturers and ammunition vendors. The revenue will go toward, among other things, crime victim services programs, education programs, and mental and behavioral health programs for children and veterans.
  • South Dakota voters rejected a measure that would have eliminated sales tax on goods sold for human consumption, including food and other grocery items.
  • Louisiana voters passed a measure ensuring that the funds deposited into the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Fund will include revenue generated by renewable and alternative energy sources, in addition to oil and gas, in offshore waters that are controlled by the U.S. government.

Legislatures

Voters in Arizona, Massachusetts and Oregon considered changes to state legislative procedure and authority.

  • Arizona voters rejected a measure that would have required legislative approval to implement any agency rule that increases costs by more than $500,000.
  • Massachusetts voters approved a measure authorizing the state auditor to audit the Legislature.
  • Oregon voters approved a measure authorizing the Legislature to impeach statewide elected officials. Oregon was the only state where lawmakers did not already have this power.

Education

Decisions about education—whether it be funding, school choice or other issues—are commonly made via ballot measure.

  • Educational curriculums have been the subject of increasingly political debate, but Florida voters rejected a measure seeking to change school board elections from nonpartisan to partisan.
  • Kentucky voters rejected a measure that would have allowed public funds to be spent on nonpublic schools.
  • Nebraska voted to repeal a law providing state-funded scholarships to private schools.
  • Colorado voters rejected a measure seeking to establish a right to school choice.

Other Measures

Voters delivered verdicts on dozens of other measures in this year’s election. Outcomes varied and topics ranged from criminal justice to the environment to housing and more. A few additional measures include:

  • Arizona voters passed a measure giving the state significant enforcement authority to penalize unlawful border crossings and attempts to receive public benefits by individuals who are not lawfully present in the state, among other things.
  • Nevada voters decided to adopt a photo voter ID law.
  • Ohio voters rejected a measure to form a new redistricting commission, replacing the one adopted via ballot measure in 2015. Several states have implemented citizen commissions via ballot measure in recent years, including Colorado, Michigan and Virginia.
  • Maine voters voted to impose a $5,000 cap on contributions to super PACs.

Information on all these measures and more can be found in NCSL’s Statewide Ballot Measures Database.

Helen Brewer is a policy specialist in NCSL’s Elections and Redistricting Program.

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