Abortion Ballot Measures in 2026

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Ballot measures are one of the most powerful tools we have to protect and expand abortion access at the state level. Here's what's on the line this November.

In 3 states, Idaho, Nevada, and Virginia, voters will decide on measures supportive of abortion rights. The stakes are high, especially in Idaho, which currently has a total abortion ban in effect. Passing the ballot measure would open the door to challenging that ban.

In Missouri, voters will see the opposite, an anti-abortion measure that would roll back the reproductive freedom approved by voters in 2024 There, the fight is about defending a right already won.

History matters. Nearly every time abortion rights have been on the ballot, voters have chosen to protect them.

Seven out of 10 measures passed in 2024, and all 7 measures passed on state ballots passed in 2022 and 2023. A ballot win doesn't instantly erase existing restrictions, but it creates a legal foundation that courts can use to expand access. That's exactly what happened in Missouri and Arizona.

Missouri's 2024 measure opened the door to overturning a total ban and restoring procedural and medication abortion.

Arizona's voter-approved measure led courts to strike down a fifteen-week ban and lift restrictions on telehealth, mailing abortion pills, forced waiting periods, and more. In both states, people's ability to get care changed in concrete ways.

The upcoming ballot initiatives are bigger than abortion and could impact interconnected rights. In several states, voters will face measures attacking the rights of trans youth, including the anti-abortion measure in Missouri that aims to prohibit gender-affirming care for young trans people.

And as these tools have succeeded in expanding abortion, anti-abortion actors have grown more aggressive about restricting the ballot process itself. In several states, voters will face measures that would make it harder to pass any ballot measure at all.

The takeaway? Winning a ballot measure is a starting point, not the finish line. Your voice helps protect abortion access, the rights of trans people, and the democratic process that lets communities shape their own policies.

Learn more about this year's abortion-related ballot measures at the link in our bio.